"I'm going to support women" - Ilona Maher makes stance clear as she extends her support to cheerleaders on the field

Ilona Maher supported cheerleaders on the field, stating she would always encourage women. Maher made a name for herself as a body positivity advocate, inspiring fellow athletes in male sports to embody femininity.

Ilona Maher had a successful Paris Olympic campaign, winning the bronze medal with the US women's rugby sevens team. For her unique take on women empowerment, she became the most followed rugby player on social media with 4.9 million followers on Instagram and 3. 4 million on TikTok.

Currently playing with the Bristol Bears in PWR, Maher helped the Ashton Gate Stadium witness a record crowd in her debut match against Gloucester-Hartpury. Continuing her work to bring more people to rugby, the 28-year-old recently appeared at a sporting arena, matching steps with the cheerleaders.

"One thing about me: I'm going to support women," Maher's in-video text read.

Her post caption read:

"Don’t matter what they are doing, I will be cheering for them."

After the Bears' win against the Leicester Tigers, the team faced a tough loss to Trailfinders Women in the PWR Playoff round. Despite the heartbreak, Ilona Maher noted that women's rugby started offering more entertainment and urged people to support the sport to help it grow in the future.

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Ilona Maher addressed the tendency of people trying to put athletes in a box

Ilona Maher at the Trailfinders v Bristol Bears - (Source: Getty)

Ilona Maher has been the face of several brands, including the iconic Sports Illustrated magazine, encouraging women to be comfortable in their bodies. At the Paris Olympics, she advocated for playing a masculine sport like rugby with bright lipstick and makeup. In a recent interview with CNN, Maher opined that people expect women athletes to behave in certain ways, looking past their fun and feminine side.

"I think (people) put female athletes, especially, into a box, like that’s all she is — ‘She plays on the field and that’s it.’ They forget the personalities that we have, how funny we are, the friendships, the way we are outside, the way we like to get dressed up."

She then shared that standing up for women by creating relatable content was important for her.

"It was important for me to show many sides of me and the body positivity, body appreciation side kind of came naturally in a way because it is something that I feel strongly about. Also, with a lot of my content, I try to see what’s relatable for others. And it’s so interesting in my time of learning to appreciate my body, you kind of start to realize, ‘Oh, everybody has insecurities.’”

Maher partnered with Alan Bersten in the 33rd season of Dancing With the Stars, clinching the second position behind Joey Graziadei.