LSU gymnastics team beefs up security after unruly Olivia Dunne fans unleash chaos at Utah event
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: The LSU gymnastics team is tightening up their security for the rest of the season after Olivia Dunne was mobbed by a gang of "rude" teenage boys at an event in Utah. The 20-year-old has become a social media sensation courtesy of flirty photos posted on Instagram and lip-sync videos on TikTok. She has amassed a net worth of $2.3 million through her gymnastics and sponsorship deals.
However, the newfound fame and unwanted attention led to the college gymnast having to urge fans to be "respectful" as various claims of incidents surfaced after the meet against Utah last weekend. According to coach Jay Clark, a security officer will now travel with the team to competitions for the rest of the season. "That person will be in our hotel and outside our locker room and getting us to and from the bus at the venue," Clark told The Advocate/Times-Picayune. "(The officer) will be there to create a perimeter that keeps everybody safe."
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Clark said he wanted to make sure that fans can seek the autographs of the gymnasts but insisted his athletes' safety had to be a priority. He also suggested that athletes who commonly interact with family members and friends between routines could be prohibited from doing so henceforth. "Things have to change. We just can't expose them," Clark added. "We're looking at some policy changes that will give parents access at a different location to their daughters."
Before returning for its home opener on Monday, January 16 against Oklahoma, LSU next competes at the University of Kentucky today. Dunne posted a statement online after huge crowds of boys called one of her teammates "Livvy 2.0" and told her "you'll do" for a photo last weekend. To avoid the crowd, officials forced the LSU team bus to move while police were stationed in front to help the athletes get to safety.
Dunne tweeted, "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." Olivia Dunne, also known as Livvy, is considered one of the most influential college athletes of her era. Her fans showed up to support her in Salt Lake City even though she wasn't in the line-up.
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❤️
— Olivia Dunne (@livvydunne) January 8, 2023
Meanwhile, the mother of a Utah gymnast claimed her daughter was overwhelmed by a group of teenage boys. "As we were walking to the car the group swarmed my daughter and her teammate," Jillian Hoffman's mother Jennifer posted online. "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." She added her daughter and teammates were not "harassed, assaulted or harmed in anyway."
Other reports claim the team bus was moved so the athletes did not have to come across the group of boys queueing outside the arena. The teenagers kept asking if Livvy was leaving the Huntsman Center, before chanting her name.
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. https://t.co/4mtWkUxAWa
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) January 7, 2023