“People have put me in the box” - Ilona Maher opens up on change in perspectives about athletes on social media

Ilona Maher recently made her feelings known about how perspectives about athletes change on social media. The rugby player is currently gearing up for the upcoming matches of the 2025 season.

Maher was last seen in action during the women's rugby international Pacific Four match on May 24, 2025, at the North Harbour stadium. She and her team were bested by New Zealand, who dominated the clash with a score of 79-14. Apart from her rugby endeavors, the American is also known for her social media presence.

The athlete is currently in her off-season, and amid this, she made an appearance in a conversation with the 'Female Athlete Project' podcast. Here, she opened up about changes in perspectives about athletes on social media, drawing from her own experience. She spoke about how the sport gave her a space where she felt like she belonged and then made her feelings known about how she is being currently judged and has been 'put in a box' due to her social media content.

"Now people have put me in the box of the content creator, and don't believe in me so much as an athlete, which is so interesting. The way social media can reach people and how it's changed my life has been, I mean, crazy, and that's what all female athletes want, right? We want sponsorships. We want deals. And I found that was the way to do that," said Ilona Maher.

She added:

"But I think don't forget to how hard we worked and don't let people minimise that. It's not maybe boasting, it's just about being. It's a fact. You've worked to get there. You've worked hard to get there. Don't let somebody think that false modesty is the key."

Ilona Maher replied to the 'Games Gone' comment on women's rugby

Ilona Maher is one of the most prominent athletes in rugby, having helped the US team to win their first Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Along with being a significant player, Maher is also an advocate of women's sports and never falls short of voicing her opinions. Most recently, she shut down the claim, 'Games Gone,' made by young male rugby players, criticizing women's rugby. Replying to the claim, she shared a video on her Instagram post where she said:

"I saw this comment a couple of times on my post with the Black Ferns and a lot of it was from what looked like young boy rugby players... So, you say 'Games Gone' or that the game's gone soft. Here's the deal, we're not men's rugby, we're different. So, we're taking a different approach to it," Ilona Maher said.

She added:

"In terms of the games gone, we've sold 300,000 tickets to the women's rugby World Cup this year... We just set an attendance record with 10,500 people in stands... That's how we're growing the game is because fans get to connect with us and see us in such a different light than they do men's players, and I'm proud of that. So, to you, the game isn't gone, the game's just getting better."

Ilona Maher also rose to fame during her participation in the 33rd season of Dancing With the Stars, where she earned a second-place finish in the finals.