“Social media has gotten way more toxic and mean than when I started,” is what Olivia Dunne says in The Money Game. However, little did she know that NIL and social media, while bringing money and fame, would also have a dark side. However, there was someone in the gymnastics icon’s life who predicted that something would eventually go wrong.

Looking at Livvy’s rising fame and NIL valuation, LSU Tigers coach Jay Clark went on high alert. “I was like, ‘Ok, this is going to be the perfect storm!’. I guess it’s because I’m a dad, you know.” Clark said in the Amazon Prime docuseries. Clark confessed to feeling like a coach and a “security guard,” keeping an eye out for trouble. Unfortunately, things got out of the coach’s hands.

Alongside Olivia Dunne’s growing popularity grew the crowd of young fans. However, the commotion they generated became too much to handle for Clark and his staff. “I didn’t know what to make of it at first. In some ways, it felt orchestrated, but in other ways, it felt just like the sort of a converging of a mob.” Coach Clark confessed in Episode 4: Not Just an Athlete.

“It was the behavior of dozens of teen boys trying to get the attention of LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne,” reported FOX 13. However, Clark also spotted “middle-aged men” alongside an angry crowd. The university understood they had to take action. So LSU beefed up security whenever the Lady Tigers competed.

Jay Clark revealed that the security team reached the venue before the team secured the area. This arrangement continued because the danger did not subside. When access to Olivia Dunne’s gymnastics meets closed, she started receiving death threats online. “You’re not gonna make it back to your dorm alive tonight.” read one such text Livvy received on Instagram. And it wasn’t just the richest female NIL athlete.

Olivia Dunne’s mother explained the reality

Jay Clark wasn’t the only one worried about the 21-year-old as her popularity skyrocketed. Livvy’s mother, Kat Dunne, was also worried about the safety of her daughter, especially when the death threats started. However, the NIL icon mother was also aware that many girls face similar problems. “What happens to Olivia is happening on a big scale, but it happens to girls on a small scale all the time,” said Dunne.

Olivia Dunne’s mother turned out to be absolutely right in her assumption. The 2024 NCAA champion confessed that many of the threats she received on social media also targeted her teammate. Thankfully, LSU’s actions and heightened security prevented a major incident. And once again, it was Clark who helped the national champion leave behind the distractions.

“It’s just about taking our steps forward,” Jay Clark told the Tigers star, and the gymnast has stuck to that mantra. As Livvy Dunne gets ready to return for her fifth and final year at LSU, recapturing the NCAA title is the only thing on her mind. Thankfully, Coach Clark will be there to once guide the NIL and her teammates as defending NCAA champions.