20-Year-Old College Gymnast, Earning Up to 2 Million a Year, Faces Harsh Criticism From Coach

The 20-year-old gymnast, Olivia Dunne, a.k.a Livvy, was propelled to riches with her posts on social media channels. She posts regularly on TikTok and Instagram with a combined total of more than 8 million followers on the platforms. Thus, becoming one among the several female athletes earning millions through name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. Recently, a prominent coach in women’s college basketball at Stanford University slammed Dunne’s strategy.

Olivia was one of the members of the Team USA National Gymnastics team in 2017. She is currently competing for LSU in the NCAA. The social media sensation began gymnastics at the age of 3. She competed in level 10 at the age of 10.

During 2013/14, she became the youngest athlete in the country to qualify as a Jr. International Elite. Highly talented and skillful, Olivia found the multitude of opportunities on social media and began capitalizing on them with creative posts of her personal life as well.

The coach slammed the path chosen by the gymnast as “a step back”

There is a rising trend of female athletes venturing into social media with huge aspirations. The coach, Tara VanDerveer, remarked it was a regressive trend for female athletes. She was particularly critical of the s**ism involved in the posts.

She stated, “We’re fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resources, to have facilities, to have coaches, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics.” Amidst these goals, a trend such as “This is a step back,” she said.

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In what turned out as a fortunate development for Dunne, last year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association upgraded its rule to allow its athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness. When the rule took effect, Dunne already had tonnes of followers. A month after the announcement, she signed with WME Sports and became their first NIL athlete.

Olivia Dunne provides her humble take on stardom

Olivia made her senior debut in 2018. She also competed at the 2018 US Classic and 2020 USA National Championships in Boston. Fair to say, the gymnast is striking a good balance between competitions and capitalizing on her image on social media. As of August 2, 2021, Dunne became the most-followed NCAA athlete on social media.

Ever since signing with the agency WME, the same agency that represents Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic made, she has been flooded with lucrative endorsement deals with fashion brands like Forever 21 and American Eagle. In a TikTok video, regarding her rising prominence, she said, “I just want to be a role model to young girls. I want to set a good example…I’m kind of just going with the flow, and it’s very exciting.”

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It is indeed a win-win situation for the young athletes and the companies eyeing such talent. However, what do you think about the concern raised by the coach regarding the glamour and fashion overshadowing athletic prowess?