In sports, camaraderie transcends competition. From Novak Djokovic backing Boris Becker during his financial struggles to LeBron James rallying for Brittney Griner’s release, athletes have long stood for each other. And the latest to step up is? Ilona Maher, an Olympic bronze medalist, Rugby World Cup veteran, and social media force, has taken up the banner. Most known for her powerhouse presence on the field, she has over eight million followers online. Maher is rallying the rugby community for one of its own. For the one who once led her people with grit and pride. Maher had called upon the world!

Ilona Maher took to her Instagram Story yesterday, sharing a powerful message alongside an action shot: “A legend of American Rugby @jillppotts is fighting cancer again and needs our help.” Below, she linked a GoFundMe page, urging her millions of followers to contribute. Jillion Potter, a former U.S. Olympic captain who has fought cancer before, is fighting it again. She has spent over a decade battling synovial sarcoma—a rare and relentless soft-tissue cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2014. She didn’t just endure treatment, but she redefined it.

Jillion did not stop training! Rather, she took the field at the 2016 Rio Olympics, wearing the USA jersey with the same grit that made her a leader. In 2022, Jillion Potter went through multiple rounds of chemo and surgeries. But sadly, now, the disease has returned, and this time, doctors say it’s ‘non-curative.’ Her fight now shifts to controlling recurrence, all while ensuring she maintains her quality of life. But she isn’t just a lone battle!

Potter’s fight isn’t just medical, it’s financial too. The cost of cancer care is staggering, and as she navigates treatment, travel, and a major move, the bills keep piling up. The GoFundMe campaign lays it out: $10,000 for travel to Houston for oncology appointments, $25,000 for out-of-pocket medical expenses, and $5,000 for alternative therapies like acupuncture and massage. Another $5,000 will help her transition back to Denver, covering travel, packing, and home essentials. Daily expenses—childcare, groceries, and house cleaning—add another $5,000 to the total.

Jillion may also be facing such a financial challenge as the financial realities of rugby—especially for women—remain harsh. Unlike their male counterparts in more lucrative leagues, female rugby players often juggle multiple roles just to stay afloat. Maher has been vocal about this, shedding light on the struggles even Olympians face. And most probably that is why she must have offered support.

“I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t serious because I do social media or social media takes away my impact on the field. As a female athlete I would love to just focus on what I am doing on the field but if I want to live a comfortable life, if I want to make real money, I have to actually do more. Maybe that is a female thing, sometimes we have to do more. I wasn’t willing to give up something that could be so lucrative for me, I wanted to make sure I could do both.” Maher said to the Guardian last year. Hopefully, with Maher’s support, Jillion Potter will be able to navigate her journey.

It’s not just the financial aspect, but Maher has also been vocal about issues like body positivity and breaking stereotypes in women’s sports.

Ilona Maher is Redefining Strength and Embracing Body Positivity

Ilona Maher has always been a force—on and off the rugby field. Her long list of accolades not only includes winning three NIRA championships, earning All-American honors, and claiming the MA Sorensen Award as the nation’s top collegiate women’s rugby player, an Olympic medal but also her advocacy for body positivity.

When a commenter mocked her for having a body mass index (BMI) of 30, she didn’t just ignore it—she owned it. In a viral TikTok from July 2024, she fired back with confidence: “I think you were trying to roast me, but this actually is a fact. I do have a BMI of 30 — well, 29.3 to be more exact.” She went on to detail how she had been labeled overweight since childhood, how the outdated BMI system had tried to define her, and how she refused to let it shape her self-worth.

Maher is the voice reminding them that strength comes in all forms. She’s proof that a woman can be powerful and feminine, tough and graceful. “I think the stereotype around a rugby player is this idea that you need to drop your femininity and play a very masculine, brutal sport,” Maher said last year, a day after the medal match against Australia, as reported by AP News.

Continuing further, she said, “Myself and my team and some others on the circuit like Australia and Ireland, are showing that femininity. We are doing our makeup before games…….But that doesn’t take away from how amazing we tackle and hit and run. You can be those things, and the stereotypes around women’s sports just should be thrown out the window now.” Thus, the Olympian has been very clear about her stance on and off the field. She is breaking barriers, proving that women’s sports deserve more—and that strength comes in all forms!