LSU graduate Olivia Dunne has been criticized for her decision to return to college gymnastics for a fifth year almost all season. Recently, she responded.
In a TikTok posted to her account last night, Dunne responded to a comment left on a previous video capturing LSU gymnastics’ senior night ceremony, where she reflected on her time alongside her teammates.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be a senior for the next 10 years,” TikTok user Clayton Bigsby’s comment read.
Dunne replied with a video explaining that she was granted a fifth year at LSU after the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to take it, expressing that she doesn’t understand why her choice is difficult for others to grasp.
In 2020, the NCAA decided that Division I universities may offer its athletes a fifth year of eligibility if their spring seasons were shortened by the worldwide pandemic, with many athletes taking advantage of it.
“I only ever see this comment on female athletes’ posts,” Dunne said. “Football and basketball players redshirt and take fifth years all the time.”
Another college athlete who’s taken a fifth-year season due to the pandemic is UNC men’s basketball’s RJ Davis, who received praise after announcing his decision to continue to play for his university last year on Instagram.
“Great Day to be a Tarheel Fan,” one of over 1,500 comments read.
When Dunne announced her return to LSU gymnastics in a similar post, some responses in the comment section struck a different tone.
“Def because she makes millions from NIL and won’t kiss that goodbye prematurely,” an Instagram user commented.
Dunne has continued to receive this kind of criticism throughout the year and took time to mention LSU’s returning redshirt quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier, in her response.
“The starting quarterback of LSU football is coming back for a fifth year,” she said in last night’s video. “This comment is nowhere to be found on his account.”
Many TikTok users commented on Dunne’s distinction of this negative feedback between male and female athletes returning for a fifth year, arguing that they criticize male athletes as much as they do female ones.
“Stetson Bennett was getting flamed 2 years ago wym?” one user said, evoking a response in a comment from the gymnast.
“‘I’m 22 he was 24/25,” Dunne responded in a comment. “Good for him coming back and balling out tho lol.”
She also acknowledged another audience in her video – one that feels she only returned for the money involved in her career – clarifying that she gave up her scholarship to return for her fifth year.
While none of the LSU gymnastics team has made an official response to Dunne’s video, former all-around LSU gymnast and current LSU special assistant Savannah Schoenherr left a comment on the TikTok reading, “Period Liv.”
