College hires bodyguard for gymnast after 'scary and disturbing' scenes at event
Anish Vij
Featured Image Credit: @livvydunne/Instagram
The school of sporting sensation Olivia Dunne have hired an extra layer of security after troubling scenes at a meet in Utah.
She became a millionaire at the age of 18 after signing for talent agency WME Sports and landed a sponsorship deal with an activewear brand.
Now 20 years old with millions of followers, the LSU Tigers gymnast previously addressed an incident at the Jon M. Huntsman Center last week where a group of teenage boys were 'saying rude things and swearing', as they waited for Olivia.
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2008 Olympic silver medalist and current commentator Samantha Peszek shared footage of the 'scary and disturbing' scenes on social media.
Commenting on Peszek's tweet, ESPN commentator Kathy Johnson Clarke said: "I was walking out just behind you, Sam, and they were screaming to me 'are you Livvy's mom? Are you Livvy's mom?'. Very disturbing. Creepy, actually."
On Tuesday, coach Jay Clark revealed that a security officer will now travel with the team for the rest of the season, following a number of incidents.
"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."
"Things have to change. We just can't expose them.
"We're looking at some policy changes that will give parents access at a different location to their daughters."
Addressing the recent incident, Olivia said: "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."
Her mother Katherine also called for people to 'stop shaming girls for the behaviour of boys'.
She tweeted: "It is not OK to blame any athlete/celebrity when fan behavior crosses the line.
"In a sport where all the girls wear nothing but leotards stop suggesting that how Livvy dresses means she deserves this in any way.
"Stop shaming girls for the behavior of boys."
Jillian Hoffman‘s mother Jennifer also wrote on Facebook: "I am a mother of a Utah gymnast, 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. It was very hard for mama bear not to come out."
UNILAD has contacted LSU Tigers for comment.