CEDAR CITY — An 11-year-old Southern Utah girl from Cedar City has gone from being bullied to being the new face of a fast-growing rodeo apparel company out of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bull Kings had been auditioning Olivia Simpson for a modeling gig as the first pre-teen representative of the business when her fellow classmates began bullying her, which led her to withdraw from public school last year to home school, her mother Tonya Simpson said.

She said her daughter returned this year to public school, but the same students who bullied her last year bullied her again to the point she transferred back to home school.

Olivia, who is biracial, half-Black and half-white, was born and raised in Las Vegas. A couple of years ago, her mother moved to start anew in Cedar City. The bullying began with name-calling, pushing, hitting in the back and back of the head, food spit in her face, as well as the usage of racially derogatory terms, Simpson said. In addition, the mother of one of the offending students reportedly was caught on the school camera staring down Olivia.

Simpson said the school has called in all students involved and tried to resolve things, but there has not been any action taken against the mother. The response from the district concerning these issues can be read in full at the end of this article.

Bull Kings owner and firefighter Tom Smith knew Olivia from a modeling portfolio submitted to him two years ago. He said when he found out about the situation, it sealed the deal on her being a big part of the company.

“We already knew she was going to be representing the company before the bullying,” Smith said. “But we knew when we found out what happened that we needed to have her be part of the team to let everyone know we support bull riders, rodeo stars, and people who are doing good things in life. Not bullies.”

It was then that the company thought up the idea of a social cause and possible future line of apparel.

“That was the birth of BNB,” he said. “Bull-riders. Not bullies.”

Smith started the apparel company Bull Kings in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2018. The company donates 25% of its profits to rodeo athletes and stars, mainly bull riders and bullfighters who are rehabilitating injuries. Since their inception, they have spread to eight states and Canada, with more states in the process of joining the list.

“The athletes get injured, and the rodeo is how they pay their bills, so most of them don’t get paid while injured,” Smith said. “This helps them keep the lights on and pay the bills while they heal.”

Olivia had the opportunity during the summer to be a model for the day with a professional photographer who donated his time. Traveling throughout Cedar City, she posed with Bull Kings apparel. Later that same weekend, she served as a representative for the brand at the Bull Kings vendor booth on June 4 and 5 at the Diamond Z Arena for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Cedar City Championship Rodeo.

On Sept. 4, Olivia met Bull Kings owners Tom and Stephanie Smith at the Iron County Fair and Rodeo, which is when she found out she would be an official representative of the brand as a Bull Kings model and a face for the anti-bullying program.

Among those who represent Bull Kings is the current NFR All-Around Cowboy Champion, Stetson Wright.

As for the future, Olivia said she is looking into more opportunities for professional modeling while continuing to work on training in horsemanship, horse riding and sewing with her grandmother. As for school, she remains happy with home-schooling.

“There is too much drama, especially with girls my age,” Olivia said. “I can focus on my studies and goals with my current situation.”

The BNB promotion for Bull Kings expects to have things up and running by their attendance at the National Finals Rodeo in December. The images of Olivia will be used to help advocate the anti-bullying promotion and to advertise for Bull Kings.

“I am beyond honored to be a part of this amazing brand which gives so much back to the rodeo community,” Olivia said.

In an email to St. George News, Shauna Lund, Iron County School District’s communication and foundation coordinator, issued this statement concerning the bullying incidents:

The Iron County School District and each of its schools take incidents and reports of bullying and harassment seriously. When a report is made, school administrators investigate that report and take appropriate actions consistent with school handbooks, district policy, and state law. Due to the privacy rights of individual students and our professional obligations to protect those rights, we do not share those actions publicly.

We continue to work with students at each grade level, helping them define what bullying is and how to respond to it.

Students learn character education and about being kind to each other. Our goal is to establish schools as a place where every student feels valued and belongs. Parents and the community are an important part of ending bullying as we teach children the impact their words and actions have on others as they interact with other students.

Administration has viewed the video referenced and responded appropriately based on that evidence.

Regarding this particular situation, we have documentation of the many actions and plans that have been put in place at both schools to help resolve the conflicts that have been reported.

The accusation of the principal using derogatory language has not been reported to the district. Any evidence of an employee using defamatory or racist language will be taken seriously.

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