Olivia Dunne Issues 3-Word Message After Ex-LSU Teammate’s Major Career Decision

“Dear LSU, these past four years have changed my life….And there’s something about being part of a team that made school history. No matter how many opportunities come my way off the mat, there’s just something about LSU. And that’s why I’m here to say: I’m not Dunne yet.” Almost a year ago, in July 2024, Olivia Dunne appeared in a video uploaded by the LSU gym on X saying this. This was her announcement that she was coming back to LSU for her 5th year. Now, a year later, her ex-LSU teammate is on the same path, and Olivia could not hold back her excitement…

LSU gym and Chase Brock collaborated for an Instagram post, captioned, “don’t call it a comeback… chapter six 🔜“. The ex-LSU teammate of Olivia Dunne won’t be an ex-LSU gymnast just yet, as she announced her return for her 6th year. Dunne took to the comment section of the post and wrote, “Biiiig chaser fan”. Needless to say, Olivia and Chase have shared a close bond over the years. Back in September 2024, Dunne posted a series of photos on Instagram, striking poses in a short black dress paired with tiger-print boots—a yes to their LSU Tiger pride!

The fourth photo in the carousel showed the 23-year-old posing with Chase Brock, wearing a strikingly similar outfit. While Brock opted for black cowboy boots, the duo’s dresses looked to be the same. Once again in 2025, when Brock made a post on Instagram after her injury, Olivia Dunne commented, “❤️ You!!!” Just like Dunne, Brocks also joined LSU in the summer of 2020, and just like Dunne, she also took the COVID extension.

“It’s just a really great atmosphere here and the decision was quite simple to make and my body feels healthy,” Brock said as she announced her return to LSU for the 2024-2025 season. “I just feel like there’s more in me that I can give, so I wanted to take that last year and just kind of have fun with it.” Although this fun did not last. During warm‑ups before LSU’s big meet against No. 1 Oklahoma on February 14, 2025, Brock went down on the floor and was later seen on crutches wearing a boot on her right leg.

Later that month, LSU head Coach Jay Clark confirmed she sustained an Achilles injury and would be out indefinitely. She competed in only six meets in 2025 before the injury, and those would be her last for that season, as she could not recover. This meant that she had one more season left in her, and now she has cashed that in. Very interestingly, Olivia Dunne was also suffering from a knee Injury during this time that kept her out of her 5th year, after which she retired, a sad end to her gymnastics career. Maybe if not for the hate she got for her 5th year, things could have been different. 

Olivia Dunne and her 5th year move

Olivia Dunne faced a wave of online backlash after she announced her return to LSU for a fifth collegiate season. Critics swarmed her TikTok and Instagram, dropping comments like “Don’t worry, you’ll be a senior for the next 10 years” and questioning her motives. Many fans even implied her decision was selfish or exploitative of her NIL earnings. She also faced backlash over her promotional content, including a harsh critique of her delivery at the Kentucky Derby and endorsements like AI tools.

After one such incident, she made a video about it. “I don’t really understand what’s so hard to get. I came to college in 2020, got granted a fifth year because of COVID, and I came back for the fifth year,” she said. She added that she only ever sees comments slamming college athletes for returning for a fifth year directed towards them. The LSU gymnast also hit back with it; clear that the people leaving comments about Dunne’s fifth-year return “obviously were never a college athlete or never loved a sport.” What are your thoughts on her?