ESPN’s Elle Duncan on Letting Go of Ego, Overcoming Industry Obstacles, and the Biggest Mistake That Almost Cost Her Career

Veteran sports anchor Elle Duncan aspires to inspire the next generation of young journalists. Her broadcasting career expands two decades across radio, sports, music, and more, from being an on-air personality with Atlanta hip-hop station V103 and being a sideline reporter for the Atlanta Hawks to most notably anchoring ESPN’s SportsCenter, one of the network’s top-rated signature programs.

She admits the journey has sometimes been challenging. However, allowing the detours and roadblocks to take center stage was not an option. Leading by example, she aims to showcase that hard work, ambition, and a great support system can catapult career success regardless of what field or industry you’re navigating.

So what’s next on the Atlanta native’s bucket list after achieving so much? She insists, “At this point, it’s doing projects that satisfy and scratch itches I’ve always had. My bucket list is doing more things that challenge me and allow me to stretch different muscles while also getting to do the thing I love, which is talking about sports.”

Fresh off the road from covering the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke with the mom of two about her hope for young women to find their voice and identity in media, the greatest motivating factors both personally and professionally, and receiving a second chance after a misstep almost put her career in jeopardy.

BLACK ENTERPRISE: You’ve achieved so much in your career. Is there a particular moment that stands out as the peak of your career so far?

Elle Duncan: One of those moments was definitely the first Super Bowl I went to, and I was standing on the field in Phoenix. I remember thinking I used to be the one in the parking lot, wondering if I could muster up a hundred dollars to get into the game, and now I’m on the field interviewing people. That was an incredible moment!

I think we’re conditioned not just in this industry, but in most industries, that ambition means having this altruistic focus on this one thing and doing anything you can to achieve it, and constantly climbing, grinding, and working yourself to death. I remember living by that problematic phrase, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

That’s not realistic or a thing that can happen. There are some really cool moments where you recognize the destination, and you’re filled with gratitude and immense humility for how many people have poured into you that allow you to be here. It’s more to me the moments I’ve been able to take the foot off the gas and do some reflecting and recognize the journey, the destination aside.

Speaking of self-reflection, how do you nourish yourself daily and pour into yourself?

That’s the million-dollar question! A huge part of what gives me joy and sustains me is being able to help people, connect with people, and do what I can to help make someone else’s journey a little easier, whether through charitable efforts or trying to mentor other young journalists. I look at things in one of three ways.

I have three buckets, and one is self-serving. It’s OK to admit sometimes you need to be selfish and self-serving. Another bucket is for my family, and the other is for the world. You have to be very deliberate. Joy doesn’t just come and smother you. You have to work at joy and be intentional about practicing joy and practicing an expression of joy and gratitude.

What have you learned from a mistake or a misstep in your career?

You learn a lot about yourself, the people around you, and the currency you put into people when you’re in trouble. When I turned 30, I was doing well in Atlanta and receiving many community awards. Life was good, and I was living my best life in my hometown and making good money. But I got caught slipping, had half a drink too much, and got into the driver’s seat of a car.

There’s so much to learn from people like me, from people in your own life who have stumbled and have used that opportunity to try and help and inform other people. Nobody believes you’re not going to make a mistake, but make sure they’re not the mistakes you can never come back from. I’ve been fortunate to receive a second chance. I hope, especially in how I present myself and the stories I tell, I can reflect that people deserve second chances. It’s what they do with them that matters and how they continue to build, grow and move forward.

What advice would you give someone following in your footsteps on overcoming industry obstacles?

I’m most concerned with earning the respect of my colleagues. You earn your colleagues’ respect by working hard, being a pleasant person to work with, being willing to fill gaps in holes, and putting your ego aside. Ego death is so paramount to doing anything. Putting those things aside and recognizing we’re a team, we work together in tandem. That has been the most significant learning curve and where most of my success comes from.

You mentioned a crucial point because many people allow egos to take the wheel instead of letting the work speak for itself.

I talk to young journalists, and it’s always about advocating and speaking up for yourself. Believe in yourself. Don’t listen to what other people say. When that’s pumped into you, at some point, it becomes a double-finger salute to everybody else, which very quickly starts turning into a big ego, an unmanageable ego. Every last one of us has an ego, but life is truly about figuring out how to navigate it and when to humble yourself.

What’s your greatest motivator?

Like most people, I was motivated by a chip on the shoulder from people who didn’t believe in me for a while. It felt empty for me to always be motivated by a negative space based on those who didn’t think I could do this. As many people who said no along the way, there were people who said yes. I would never have gotten to this point if there weren’t people who believed in me, gave me opportunities, and stood by me. Those people are a much more motivating factor than the ones that didn’t.

What is your hope for young women finding their voice and identity in sports and media?

I see this situation right now with Angel Reese, the basketball player who won the most outstanding player with LSU for the national championship. Whenever someone asks me for advice for the young ones, I’m like, “They seem to have figured it out.” Just this idea of being bold, unabashedly, and unapologetically themselves. The most important part is remembering that whatever field you’re trying to navigate, there are times, spaces, and places for those things.

I never needed to be my full and honest self when I worked at Texas Roadhouse. I needed to go in there, do my job, earn my tips, and go home. We have confused this Instagram-pervasive life of you getting all of my life all the time. People will always have an opinion on who you are, what you do, and how you should be. But at the end of the day, do the work in figuring out who you want to be, in making sure you impress the people around you, like your family and friends who you love, who know you, who want the best for you, and focus on that. Focus on that journey for yourself and forging those relationships instead of being everything to everyone.