"I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community" - When Olivia Dunne called out her fans

LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne described 2023 as the most rewarding and most difficult year of her life after being overwhelmed by fans at the season opener at the University of Utah.

She was referring to January 6, 2023, when hundreds of fans turned up at the Louisiana State University college gymnastics meet.

Dunne told Sports Illustrated that having so many eyes on her was a new feeling.

"Last year was probably one of the most rewarding and most difficult years of my life. Just having so many eyes on me was such a new feeling, but it was pretty cool at the same time."

Dunne, a social media star with over 6 million followers on TikTok, was given enhanced security because of the disruptive fans. Jay Clark, LSU head coach, told reporters he took their team's safety and security very seriously. He said:

"We will have security detail with us now when we go on the road and we will be working to create a perimeter around where we get on the bus, where we load."

This came after a group of teenage boys and young men with posters and cut-outs of Dunne screamed and chanted her name - "We want Livvy! Give us Livvy!" Samantha Peszek, a member of the 2008 US Olympic gymnastics team, shared a video, of the group of young boys calling for Dunne, on X (formerly Twitter). She described the incident as "scary and disturbing".

Dunne, 21, also urged her fans to be more respectful. She tweeted:

"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 makes history with floor routine, LSU Tigers defeats Arkansas Razorbacks

Dunne, a star member of the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team, recently (February 2) helped her team defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks with a floor routine, earning a score of 9.875. This matched her highest total.

Olivia Dunne cheering for her team.

The social influencer's performance sent fans into a frenzy. Coach Clark, according to the LSU website, commended the team saying they improved.

"Well, we got better. That's what this week was about. The focus and the main goal was to get a good performance, a complete performance. I do not focus on whether we get a low or high score. It's about our performance."

This also marked Clark's 100th career win as a head coach.