Olivia Dunne drops cheeky message to mid game poster amid boyfriend Paul Skenes pitch

Olivia Dunne responded with a cheeky message to the Detroit Tigers mascot, referencing her with a sign as her boyfriend, Paul Skenes, started for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Thursday's game. The Tigers led 9-2 in the opening round of the doubleheader.

Olivia Dunne graduated from LSU after the 2025 NCAA Championships, having been sidelined since March for an avulsion fracture in her patella. Since bidding goodbye to her alma mater, the 22-year-old has become a regular at cheering on her boyfriend as he plays with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the MLB.

Recently, the gymnast shared a picture of her TV screen on her Instagram story, featuring the Detroit Tigers mascot, holding up a sign that read, 'Sup, Livvy Dunne'. The moment happened to coincide with Skenes' start for the Pirates in the second doubleheader against the Tigers on Thursday.

Dunne, not very impressed with the little troll, had a fitting response for the mascot, expressing how she has always been loyal to the LSU Tigers. She captioned her story as:

"sorry... but not my type of tiger"

Dunne reacts to Tigers mascot holding up her name; Instagram - @livvydunne

Dunne and Skenes recently returned to watch LSU take on the Bruins in the College World Series game at Charles Schwab Field. In an off-field interview, the gymnast expressed how strange it was to watch baseball with her pitcher boyfriend, but it was a fun outing.

"It was weird to be sitting next to him and watching the baseball game. I mean, It got rained out so we only watched a little bit of the game but Paul is like, 'It's fine, I watch games all the time so, it's alright.' But it was so fun."

The couple met at the Louisiana State University campus and started dating in 2023.

Olivia Dunne made her feelings known about a career shift after graduation

Dunne at the LSU v Auburn - (Source: Getty)

Olivia Dunne competed for LSU since the 2020-21 season. She executed her skills mainly on the uneven bars and floor, helping her team win on different occasions. She was also part of the team that lifted its first National trophy in 2024, and utilized her fifth year of eligibility in the 2024-25 season.

In a recent interview with NCAA baseball, the 22-year-old shared that staying away from gymnastics has not been pleasant, but she now can pursue other opportunities and spend time with Paul Skenes.

"It’s so weird to think about not doing a sport anymore, but I’m excited to say yes to all the opportunities that I couldn’t say yes to because of gymnastics. So I can’t wait to try new things, go support Paul for a bit, go to all the away games, the home games. And honestly, just have some fun."

Olivia Dunne was named to Forbes' top influencer list days after debuting as the cover star in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder