Democratic candidate for US president Kamala Harris has received the support of a major social media influencer: Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher.
“I think it will be cool because there is an opportunity to have female representation and change this country in a way that I think will benefit us,” Maher said. told Sports Illustratedin an interview conducted during a swimwear photoshoot, in which the 28-year-old was praised as “a feminist pioneer”.
“That’s an endorsement from Kamala Harris,” Maher told the magazine, which said she cited abortion rights and access to contraception as key concerns as the presidential election approaches.
Harris, the current vice president, has made protecting such rights a central plank of her campaign against Donald Trump. As president, the Republican nominee appointed three hard-right justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, which subsequently struck down federal abortion rights and suggested that access to contraception could also be called into question.
“I have enough money that if I didn’t need an abortion, I could raise a child of my own,” Maher said. “If I wanted an abortion, I could. So I have that privilege [but] it scares me for the other girls. I have options and I want to remember that my followers don’t all have them. And so it’s for me, but also especially for them.”
Maher began playing rugby at high school in Vermont, before winning three national college titles with Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. She built up a significant social media following in the early stages of her international career, which began in sevens in 2018 and also saw her win two 15-a-side caps. The recent Paris Games saw her rocket to global fame.
Maher is now the most followed rugby player in the world, eclipsing giants such as South Africa captain and two-time World Cup winner Siya Kolisi and former New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter.
Speaking to SI, Maher said that “guys are playing rugby and making millions of dollars, while we’re making minimum wage and it’s not going to be a career for us. I’ve got teammates who are going out into the job market now, while these guys are down there and rugby is it for them.”
Nevertheless, Maher has achieved fame (and approval deals) with a message based on body positivity and irreverent humor, but also the kind of dynamic and aggressive play that helped the U.S. win bronze in Paris. This week, Maher told her followers she was aiming to secure a spot on the U.S. roster for the 15-a-side World Championships, to be held in England next summer.
Maher’s impact has been so great since Paris, her photoshoot for Sports Illustrated followed an appearance in NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers in which she described rugby as ‘a sport that really encourages you to be physically active and show what your body can do’.
“I know what it’s done for me,” Maher said, “and how it’s changed my body confidence by making me feel so good about myself, and I know it can do that for so many other girls.”
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Maher said she was “a big girl as a kid, so I didn’t like having my picture taken” and “was always… called manly or something. But I never felt that way. But I don’t think you’re going to bully the girl who you could probably beat up in anger. I think that’s great.” [rugby] showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and that it’s not just an instrument to look at and objectify.”
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She also said, “If my cellulite was lower than that perfect range, I wouldn’t do what I can do. I wouldn’t be as vigorous about it [so] I really think sports has been very helpful.”
MJ Day, editor-in-chief of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, called Maher a “revolutionary athlete and feminist pioneer… a modern role model of strength, conviction and authenticity.”
Maher expressed his discomfort with being seen as a role model, saying, “I just really try to emphasize that I’m human. But I think I really care. And I want people to like me.”
Harris, 59, has no known connections to rugby. But her current boss, Joe Biden, has often spoken of his love of the sport, having played in college in New York and followed the Irish national team, two of whose recent members, Rob and Dave Kearney, are distant cousins of the president.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.