Olivia Dunne Reflects on Her Sports Illustrated Journey
Olivia “Livvy” Dunne recently shared her experience with Sports Illustrated, mentioning that it all started after she garnered attention for a hit piece.
On the podcast “What’s Your Story?”, the former NCAA gymnast talked about the fallout from past interviews involving her name, image, and likeness (NIL). This discussion followed a segment titled “New support for university athletes resurfaces old concerns,” which showcased a photo of her in an LSU-issued leotard.
Dunne explained, “I was offered the chance to do sports illustrations after The New York Times wrote about me.” She’s the cover model for the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which she discussed with host Stephanie McMahon.
She continued, “They took pictures and projected them on a screen, and naturally, there was a lot of backlash following the New York Times coverage.”
At that time, Dunne posted about her experience on Instagram.
She recalled, “I decided to share the same photos they did with the caption ‘Sex Sells.’ This was over the top.” She described the response she received in 2022: “I put up a photo in my leotard, and people seemed to love it. They were like, ‘This is fantastic.’ But honestly, it’s just a gymnast’s leotard. It seemed absurd to me; it’s just a sports illustration.”
Dunne is set to walk the runway at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show in Miami Beach, Florida, on May 31, 2025.
A story from The New York Times noted that female college athletes with large social media followings have made significant sums. However, there are concerns among those advocating for fairness in women’s sports about whether such brand-building is ultimately beneficial.
This isn’t the first instance of Dunne critiquing The New York Times. During her 2023 appearance on the “Full Submitted Podcast,” she referred to a report as “complete BS,” criticizing the interviewer for asking odd questions.
“The reporter called me and asked about being a small, petite blonde gymnast,” she said. “I found it strange, like, why is that relevant? You could easily ask me about NIL without resorting to those kinds of questions.”
Dunne made her third consecutive appearance in the SI swimsuit issue for 2025, landing one of the four covers. She also shared that she shot the cover while recovering from a knee injury sustained during her previous season at LSU.
