Stephen A. Smith's claim that Giants reached out to ESPN about Elle Duncan's criticism is false: report
Smith made the claim on Friday during 'First Take'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stephen A. Smith launched into a rant about the New York Giants on "First Take" that went viral Friday.
Smith claimed the Giants had reached out to ESPN complaining about Elle Duncan’s segment on Daniel Jones.
In a post on X, Pat Hanlon, the Giants' senior vice president of communications, took exception to Duncan’s segment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, the New York Post reported that nobody from the Giants actually reached out to ESPN about the segment.
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Stephen A. Smith in 2021. (Imagn)
"The New York Giants, respectfully, shut the hell up. Y’all are awful as an organization. You won a Super Bowl in 2007. You won a Super Bowl in 2011. Outside of that, since 2011, that’s 13 years. The Giants have made the playoffs twice. They’ve won one playoff game," Smith said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"And you’ve got the nerve to sit up there and call the offices and complain to executives about somebody that went on national television to do their job. Why don’t you do your damn job as an organization?
ESPN'S ELLE DUNCAN CLAPS BACK AT GIANTS FANS IRKED BY DANIEL JONES CRITICISM
"This is a performance-based business," Smith said. "Nobody is talking about your personal life. Nobody has gotten into anything. Your performance was put on public display, and you were 20 games under .500. You have been abhorrent. You have been awful as the quarterback for the New York Giants, and, on top of it all, they let go of Saquon Barkley to make sure they took care of you. They gave you the bag instead of him, which is another blemish."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During the rant, Duncan smirked and sipped from her mug as Smith came to her defense.
Host Elle Duncan speaks during the 2024 espnW New York Summit at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge May 9, 2024, in Brooklyn, N.Y. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Hanlon said it was "mind boggling" "that an #ESPN personality would mock Daniel Jones’ statement."
"Given what has happened at that company over past few years, tone deaf," Hanlon wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Duncan’s segment criticizing Jones aired on Thursday during "SportsCenter."
"We normally reserve ‘Taking the Elle’ for Fridays, but Giants quarterback Daniel Jones just did something so inexplicable that we made an exception. After being benched this week, Jones took to the podium to say goodbye to the franchise and fans but with, like, seven games left in the season," Duncan said in a mocking tone.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I’m sorry, you have to write this down? Didn’t you go to Duke?
"Do you guys think he had this saved in his notes since, like, 2020? In all seriousness, DJ, I could have saved you like 90 seconds. A re-write: ‘Sorry you paid me $108 million for one playoff win. And I look forward to reviving my career as Brock Purdy’s backup.’ The end."
Duncan came under fire on social media for her segment and clapped back on X Saturday morning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones attends a news conference after a practice in Munich, Germany,Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)
"It started flurrying this morning after a surprising amount of snow on my drive yesterday. I guess you could say I can’t seem to escape all these snowflakes," Duncan wrote.
Jones was officially released Saturday and can sign with another team as soon as Tuesday if he clears waivers Monday.
Tommy DeVito will start for the Giants when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, and Drew Lock will be the backup quarterback.
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