Is it just me or do the dog days of summer feel particularly brutal this year? (Thanks, heat dome.) To cope, I’ve taken a few trips to Long Island where my brother’s pool offers a welcome escape from the sweltering city. As an added bonus, the train rides give me plenty of time to fall down every Wimbledon and World Cup rabbit hole imaginable. I can’t get enough of Coco Gauff’s incredible time management skills or the fact that she just surpassed Maria Sharapova’s nearly 20-year record. And since the USMNT’s bitter loss to Belgium, I’ve consoled myself with deep dives into the longtime bromance between Norway and England's top stars Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham ahead of their quarterfinals matchup — as if I wasn’t already invested enough in the viral Viking’s every social media move, I’ve now got even more reasons to circle Saturday’s game on my calendar. May the best friend win. Now, let's get to the rest of the sports headlines...
— Mallory Simon / Writer / New York, New York
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When Fandom Goes Too Far
What's going on: Former LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne says airport stalking has become so common that she no longer feels safe traveling alone. In a recent TikTok video, she told her nearly 8 million followers that a group of male autograph seekers monitor her flights, buy refundable tickets to get through airport security, and wait at gates to confront her when she lands. She said the situation recently escalated when several men tried to follow her into a women's restroom at an airport, prompting her sister to intervene. The incident is the latest in a string of such encounters Dunne has publicly discussed over the past year on her social media. Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas has also reported similar accounts of airport harassment. Both athletes suggest these aren't overzealous fans so much as professional autograph resellers who profit from their signatures.
Why is this happening?: Dunne and Thomas are far from the first female athletes to grapple with stalking. When the New York Times investigated the issue last August, it found 52 reported cases involving athletes across sports since 2020, which it says is likely an underestimate. As women’s sports become more popular, security experts say the risks facing female athletes have grown, too — especially as social media makes it easier to map their movements in real time. Some leagues and governing bodies have responded by expanding security measures at arenas, monitoring online threats, and investing in more advanced athlete protection programs. But many athletes say they're still navigating the risks largely on their own. Which left Dunne to wonder in her latest post: "Should a woman have to change her behavior because men can't handle the word ‘no’?"
