Behold Ellie the elephant, the WNBA mascot whose dance moves put Cardi B 'to shame'
The New York Liberty mascot is growing in popularity as the team fights for a championship title
Ellie the elephant is "not your average mascot," says sports podcaster Amelia Bane.
The newest mascot for the WNBA's New York Liberty is a flirtatious fashionista whose signature twerking, grinding and stomping dance moves leave even superstar performers in awe.
"She is a fierce performer. She's, like, dancing in a way that I have never seen any other sports mascot do," Bane, host of the WNBA comedy podcast Let The Girls Play, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
"She has star power."
Strutting and flirting
Ellie took over as the team's mascot in 2021, when they moved from Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., to the Barclay Center in New York City. But her star has risen this past year as the Liberty plays in the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2002.
This last week, alone, she has been profiled in the New York Times, performed alongside the "Queen of Rap" Lil' Kim, and captured the attention of rap star Cardi B., who wrote on social media that Ellie's moves to her hit song Bongos put her "to shame."
One of her signature moves is the Ellie Stomp, where she struts around the court, stomping towards members of the Torch Patrol, the Liberty's dance troupe.
Each stomp, accompanied by a thunderous 'Boom!' over the loudspeakers, appears to send the dancers flying backward from the sheer force of her previously mentioned star power.
Known for her looks as much as her moves, Ellie sports a variety of trendy ensembles, which are usually accessorized with Nike sneakers and a rotating collection of wigs. Those hairstyles are part of the performance, too, as Ellie frequently flips her loose locks or snaps her long braid.
When she's not performing, Ellie walks the crowds, snapping pictures with fans.
"But not just, like, little kids, like I think most mascots take pictures with. This is, like, everybody, all ages. People are loving Ellie," Bane said.
"She also kind of flirts with the people sitting courtside. She, like, struts and flirts. She kind of grinds on the security guards."
Among Bane's most prized possessions is a photograph of her and her wife with Ellie at a Liberty game.
"My wife and I joke that we look happier in that photo than we do in, like, any of our wedding pictures," she said.
When Ellie joined the team in 2021, she took the reins from Maddy the dog. The Liberty's former mascot was named for Madison Square Garden, where the team played between 1997 and 2018.
Ellie, meanwhile, is named for Ellis Island, home to the Statue of Liberty.
"For decades, Ellis Island was the doorway to the free world. Millions of immigrants searching for liberation passed through its doors in search of the American Dream," reads a New York Liberty press release.
"Ellie's name pays homage to this storied history, while also being a witty abbreviation for 'elephant.'"
There can only be one
Why an elephant? That's an homage to an 1884 stunt in which circus master P.T. Barnum marched 21 elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge, then just over a year old, to demonstrate its stability.
But the mascot's actual identity remains a closely-guarded secret.
The New York Liberty did not respond to a request for comment from CBC. But in an interview with the Times, Criscia Long, the senior director of entertainment for the Liberty and the Brooklyn Nets, was unequivocal about one thing: There's no rotating cast of performers behind the mask.
"There's only one Ellie," she said. "There will only ever be one Ellie."
Bane, meanwhile, hopes she never finds out who's in the costume.
"I think it's more fun if it's a secret, because I think Ellie is like her own personality," she said. "I wonder if we knew who was in there, if we would not see Ellie as this full character quite as much."
The Liberty, meanwhile, are fighting for a championship victory against the Last Vegas Aces. On Sunday, the Brooklyn team beat the Aces, forcing the WNBA Finals into a Game 4 happening Wednesday night. The Liberty will have to win two more games in a row to win their first ever championship.
Bane says she hopes Ellie's newfound celebrity will draw more people into the world of women's basketball.
"Some people don't even know that the WNBA finals are happening right now," she said. "I hope that it just draws more attention to incredible basketball that's being played at this really high level."
Interview with Amelia Bane produced by Kate Swoger
