SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah gymnastics meets are some of the most attended events in college athletics.
"We've obviously competed in multiple arenas and there's nothing like the feeling the fans give us at the Huntsman, it's so loud, energetic, and always positive," said senior gymnast Jaedyn Rucker.
On Friday, thousands of fans packed the stands as the sixth-ranked Red Rocks gymnastics team beat LSU. However, the main story wasn't their big win, but the behavior of dozens of teenage boys trying to get the attention of LSU gymnast and influencer Olivia Dunne.
Dunne has amassed millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, and is one of the top NIL earners in college athletics. She has a large fan base of teenage boys and girls, with a lot of those Utah teenage boys fans showing up to Friday's meet.
"They were out there just yelling, 'We want Livvy,' and I could tell she was also upset about and keeping her head down," said junior gymnast Jaylene Gilstrap.
After the meet, dozens of teens lined up near the LSU team bus catcalling and yelling at gymnasts and others as they exited the Huntsman Center.
"It was obviously a little uncomfortable to have a bunch of teenage boys run up to you, but we also understand that Livvy is a really big name," Rucker said.
"It's disappointing that those people kind of disrespect the athletes and that's never nice to see," Sophomore gymnast Amelie Morgan said.
Dunne tweeted to her fans Sunday, saying, "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."
"She's just like us, she's another gymnast another teammate, she's doing exactly the same thing, she must love the support and she's done amazing for herself, but when there's disrespectful comments it's kind of a shame, especially when you're working hard to perform for those fans," Morgan added.
Despite Friday's drama, the Red Rocks say they don't want this experience to distract from the rest of their season.
"No matter what the reason is for coming to our gymnastics meets, I want them to come away feeling like they've learned something new about gymnastics; how it works and appreciate the beauty of the sport and how much hard work goes into it," said Morgan.
The University of Utah team return to action Friday when they perform at the Rio Tinto "Best of Utah" and take on BYU, Southern Utah, and Utah State.
