Netflix Sports Host Elle Duncan Reveals Early Career Mishap That Taught Her a Key Lesson: 'I Was Horrible' (Exclusive)
"It was so bad," Duncan said of the mishap
Elle Duncan during 2026 MLB Opening Night on Netflix at Oracle Park in San Francisco on March 25, 2026. Credit: Deborah Coleman / Netflix NEED TO KNOW Sports anchor Elle Duncan recently joined Netflix as the streamer's on-air host for sports and live events after working for ESPN for years She anchored her second live event for Netflix on March 25 at MLB Opening Night in San Francisco, where the New York Yankees faced the San Francisco Giants Years ago on Opening Day in Atlanta, Duncan said she suffered through a career snafu that taught her an important career lesson she uses to this day Netflix's new on-air host Elle Duncan came prepared for 2026 MLB Opening Day. While speaking with PEOPLE at the San Francisco event, Duncan, 42, revealed that she learned from a "bad" mistake she made early on in her career — and shared how it's shaped her every moment as a sports anchor since.
"I had been desperate to cover the Braves, and I was working in traffic on the local news in Atlanta," says Duncan, who was born in Atlanta and got her start in the city as an intern with a sports talk radio show. "I begged them to send me to the Braves game for Opening Day. Let me do my thing.
I'm going to cook. I'm going to be so good. And I was horrible," she recalls.
"I was so bad. " Elle Duncan (L) and Barry Bonds (R) at MLB Opening Night Game: Yankees vs. Giants, Live on Netflix at Oracle Park in San Francisco on March 25, 2026 Credit: Deborah Coleman / Netflix Though things didn't work out in her favor that day, Duncan learned a lot from her mistake: "I always think about that moment because it's a reminder that confidence without preparation really doesn't mean anything.