Ilona Maher reacts to Texas coach Sydney Carter's strong statement about stereotypes regarding dressing

Olympic medalist and rugby player Ilona Maher is all praises for Sydney Carter over her comments about female dressing stereotypes. Carter is a former basketball player for the Texas A&M Aggies, who is currently coaching the team.

Carter recently opened up on the criticism she had been receiving for her dressing sense. She refused to apologize for the same and mentioned in clear terms that she had not done anything wrong. The former Texas player said,

"I don't dress for men, I don't dress for women...I just dress how I want to dress, because I like it."

Maher reacted to the quote by sharing it on her Instagram story with an applause emoji,

Screengrab of Sydney Carter's comments shared by Ilona Maher [Image Source : Ilona Maher's Instagram]

Maher had shared a similar comment about her dressing sense on the Instagram story just a few hours before she shared the story about Sydney Carter. The caption read,

"I want to dress how I feel, and show how confident I am in my body."

Screengrab of Ilona Maher's comments about body positivity and dressing sense [Image Source: Ilona Maher's Instagram]

Following her impressive performance at the Premiership Women's Rugby League, Ilona Maher has been included in the women's Rugby15 squad for the upcoming season ahead. The USA will play their first game against Japan on April 26.

---

Ilona Maher reveals how she handles the 'hate' over social media

Ilona Maher talks about handling the 'hate' over social media [Image Source: Getty]

Ilona Maher has been quite active on social media since the Tokyo Olympics. The 28-year-old rugby player has always been vocal on multiple issues, ranging from body positivity to promoting women's sports.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Maher talked about how she dealt with the negativity she faced on social media. In her words,

“The abuse is constant. I don’t think it will ever stop. What’s so great is that I play a sport with amazing women who know and make me feel good about myself. I have friends and family around me. It’s never going to stop and even in rugby, we get that constantly. There are the comments, ‘Why would I watch the women’s game?’”

Maher further added,

“I get comments about just being the Instagrammer and ‘She’s not good at rugby’. It’s going to be constant. It’s about blocking them out and continuing to promote my message. The hate will continue to come, but I’ll continue to fight it off.”

Ilona Maher had a brilliant season last year, both on and off the field. She contributed to the historic bronze medal won by the USA women's rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympics. Maher then went on to surprise everyone with her dancing skills at 'Dancing with the Stars', finishing as runners-up along with dancing partner Alan Bersten.