Kirk Herbstreit Hits Back at Fan Criticism as Elle Duncan Is Not Happy With His Comments

You know what’s a big advantage for a college football analyst? Having played the game themselves. That’s what has worked for the now ESPN College GameDay host, Kirk Herbstreit. He played quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1989-93. Herbstreit was mainly a backup quarterback in the first three seasons of his career, behind Greg Frey and Kent Graham. He was named the starter and co-captain ahead of the 1992-93 season.

However, Herbstreit’s Ohio State stint did not last long. The universe had different plans, and he switched his gears and joined ESPN in 1995 as a college football analyst. Even after that, his heart kept throbbing for the Buckeyes program and Columbus. But things got tougher for Herbstreit and his family. He became the hate magnet for the Ohio State fans. Years later, Herbstreit is still taking a stand to defend himself. 

As a renowned radio personality, the hate around him intensified. So much so that the Herbstreit family had to leave Columbus and shift to Nashville in 2011. The sole reason behind Herbstreit encountering strong emotions was that the Ohio State fans questioned his attempt to be fair and balanced while reporting on his alma mater. However, it’s now time to learn about the other part of the story. On the July 1 episode of the Net Positive with John Crist podcast, Herbstreit poured his heart out, opening how his broadcasting job is no cakewalk. He shared, “Think about my job. Thursday night, I sit next to Al Michaels and the guy throws a pass and catches it, and he runs, I’m just talking about the game, you know what I mean.”

Herbstreit continued, “And then GameDay. We’re getting into topics that’s where people get upset with not just me but all of us on our set because you have to have opinions. That’s three hours totally different job calling a game. Calling a game is just you’re seeing a play that happens in 6 seconds, you have 6 seconds to think about an analytical thought and you have 8 to 10 seconds to deliver that thought in a very helpful way to the viewer to let them understand what is transpiring, and you do that for three and a half hours. You just go on constantly. You’re kind of in a dance with your play-by-play partner, the producer who’s in your ear, the director who’s cutting shots, it’s just kind of like there’s a lot of moving parts that are going on GameDay.” That’s how hectic it is.

Back in January, Herbstreit stepped into hot coal. The GameDay host had abstained from making a pregame pick on the show before the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame big fight. Things turned bitter when he nudged the former Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins with a comment. “They brought in a backup RB who hasn’t played a ton, he’s a good back.” But there Judkins came with six TDs in the College Football Playoff for Ohio State. And his colleague Brad Crawford ensured to pick it up and point a finger at Herbtreit through his tweet. While it has been a long time since the last season wrapped up with the new one drawing near, Herbstreit landed in another controversy. This time with his colleague, Elle Duncan.

Kirk Herbstreit stirs the pot again as Elle Duncan bites back

On the Net Positive with John Crist podcast, Herbstreit shared his critical thoughts about broadcasters who can’t hide their fandom. As fellow teammates, Pat McAfee, Stephen A. Smith, and Elle Duncan made it into the list, many found the move as Herbstreit’s hard attempt to defend himself. The ESPN analyst shared, “It might be different if you’re in the studio, but if you’re calling games and let’s say you’re an Alabama fan — and I’m calling an Ohio State-Alabama game — how the h–l can you take what I say seriously if I’m saying, ‘We, almost caught…’ I would never do that. I don’t think you can cheer when you do games on a national level… You watch ‘SportsCenter’ and Elle Duncan is sitting there cheering for Georgia, openly cheering. I’m not a fan of that personally. I think it hurts your credibility…”

Duncan has been reporting for ESPN’s SportsCenter since 2016. And in no time, Herbstreit’s tart commentary reached her. And what better timing for a sarcastic response to Herbstreit’s observation? Duncan immediately tweeted, “Didn’t have this on my bingo card for today but my fandom doesn’t impact in any way what or how we talk about teams on air. Ever. I…JUST..BARK?? Also **whispers** I’m not the only one. So why I get singled out?”

Well, Kirk Herbstreit nudging his teammates for being over-emotional and compromising their rationality did not sit well with fans. After all, even though the College GameDay host admitted to being mindful about being too emotional for his alma mater, he, too, got carried away when Ohio State lifted the Natty after defeating Notre Dame. So much so that he had to reach for a tissue to wipe his tears. Is Herbstreit ready to turn his Twitter fingers into defense mode again?