Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Olivia Dunne is not happy with people who have been criticizing her for returning to college for a fifth year to compete in gymnastics for LSU. We know this because she went off on a TikTok commenter who joked that she will “be a senior for the next 10 years.”
Dunne, who was recently honored along with the other seniors on the LSU gymnastics team, returned for a fifth year thanks to the NCAA granting all college athletes another year of eligibility thanks to the COVID pandemic of 2020.
Unfortunately for Olivia Dunne, she was unable to compete on her second Senior Night. (She was also honored in 2024 before deciding to come back for another year.) She was forced to the sidelines by the latest in a string of injuries Dunne has suffered. This time, as she explained on Instagram on March 6, she suffered an avulsion fracture of her patella.
In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday, Olivia Dunne highlighted a comment that was posted to her Senior Night video which read, “Don’t worry, you’ll be a senior for the next 10 years.”
“I don’t really understand what’s so hard to get,” Dunne complained. “I came to college in 2020, got granted a fifth-year because of COVID and I came back for the fifth year. I only ever see this comment on female athletes’ posts, and why do you care if I come back for a fifth year and have another year of eligibility? Like, why do you care?”
She then compared her situation to football and basketball players who redshirt “all the time.” Dunne then singled out another LSU athlete.
“The starting quarterback of LSU is coming back for a fifth year, this comment is nowhere to be found on his account,” Dunne pointed out. “People commenting stuff like this obviously were never a college athlete or never loved a sport, so, like, you’re not funny. Why do you care what I’m doing with my life? Please stop.”
Dunne also shut down another rumor, saying, “And to the people saying it’s greedy to come back, I gave up my scholarship to somebody else so I can come back. So please stop. Thank you. That’s all.”
@livvy Replying to @Clayton Bigsby yall look ridiculous #foryou #college #gymnastics #ncaa #senior ♬ original sound – Olivia Dunne
Numerous commenters proceeded to point out to Dunne that male college athletes are often mocked for coming back for a fifth year. They named players like Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis, Cam Rising, Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and others who caught flak from fans in recent years.
“Stetson Bennett was getting flamed 2 years ago wym?” one person asked, to which Dunne replied, “I’m 22 he was 24/25. Good for him coming back and balling out tho lol.”