ESPN’s Elle Duncan did not hold back on slamming the harsh criticism toward Tom Brady‘s debut as an NFL broadcaster for FOX.
On Sunday, Brady called his highly-awaited first game for the network as the Dallas Cowboys took on the Cleveland Browns. However, his seven rings as a quarterback did not save him from critics over his first-shift jitters in the booth.
As the NFL legend’s first step into his new venture was met with much negativity, Duncan took to her self-titled show with Gary Striewski and called for clueless critics to cut Brady some slack.
‘People in broadcasting love these moments because it’s a big f*ck you to those of you that think that what we do is that easy,’ she said. ‘It is a reminder, guys, broadcasting’s not that easy. Calling games, calling color for games — not easy.
‘We make it look easy. We make it look so easy that you, Joe Blow, at home think you can do it. It’s not that easy.’
I know it’s fun to tell us how much we suck but man broadcasting isn’t easy and now I’m out here defending Tom
Brady 🫠.. #TheElleDuncanShow w/ @garystriewski up now..📺: https://t.co/M20620wWnU pic.twitter.com/hLlUIm4KhX
— Elle Duncan (@elleduncanESPN) September 10, 2024
After his legendary career on the field, Brady signed a lucrative 10-year, $375million deal to call games for FOX.
When sports media personalities took the air on Monday, the sentiments had the same undertone regarding Brady’s game-calling the evening before.
Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons, and Dan Patrick argued that Brady dealt with first-game jitters. Furthermore, Joe Buck pointed out how it would be incredibly unfair to draw conclusions about Brady based on his first impression.
While responding to the slander towards Brady, Duncan also cited his other ventures, such as his pending part-ownership bid for the Las Vegas Raiders.
‘On top of the fact that it’s not that easy because of his link to the Raiders and trying to buy the Raiders, there’s like a laundry list of things that Tom Brady isn’t even allowed to say. So, on top of the fact that you’re doing something you’ve never done before, you’re doing it knowing that they gave you over $370 million to do it,’ Duncan said.
‘You’re doing it knowing that they pulled Greg Olsen off of it to fill you in, something that everyone was upset about because this man just won an Emmy for how good he is.’
‘You’re doing all of that with auspices of also knowing that there’s many things you can’t say because it’s a violation of tampering or ownership,’ Duncan added. ‘That is a lot to carry on your shoulders, and I hate that I’m living in a world where I am defending Tom Brady.’
‘You guys, it’s wild to me; everyone, like, five minutes into the game, they were like, ‘He is the most dog s*** broadcaster I’ve ever heard, and he needs to get fired. It’s wild, you guys. Relax.’
