Olivia Dunne is asking her fans to “be respectful” to fellow competitors following a wild scene at LSU’s season-opening loss to Utah on Friday.
In a tweet posted Sunday afternoon, the LSU gymnast — who is regarded as one of the most influential college athletes — wrote, “I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job.”
Fans did not hold back their support for the 20-year-old gymnast at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday in Salt Lake City, where they held up Dunne-centric signs even though she wasn’t in the lineup, according to Outkick.
Things took a troubling turn, however, as the mother of a Utah gymnast stated on social media how some fans acted in a “disrespectful” manner.
“As we were walking to the car the group swarmed my daughter and her teammate. They literally said to their faces, you are not Livvy but you will do, can we get a picture. [The group] also called my daughter Livvy 2.0. They were so rude and disrespectful,” said Jillian Hoffman’s mom, Jennifer, who added that her daughter and teammates were not “harassed, assaulted or harmed in anyway,” per Outkick.
Elsewhere on the scene, Josh Furlong of KSL.com Sports, described Friday on Twitter how “LSU had to move its team bus so they didn’t have to run into the group of boys. There were cops stationed in front to avoid them getting in.”
In an earlier tweet, Furlong said, “There’s literally a line outside of the Huntsman Center of teenage boys that keep asking if Livvy is coming out. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Footage of the fans outside the venue also surfaced online, which featured the supporters chanting “Livvy” repeatedly. Samantha Peszek, a former gymnast-turned-broadcaster, shared a clip of the scene on her social media pages, noting, “This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them…”
Dunne, who boasts millions of social media followers, ranks at the top of On3 Sports’ list of female NIL moneymakers, valuing athletes by performance, influence and exposure, which estimated her value at $2.3 million in October.