Free safety Toni Harris became a household name during the Super Bowl when she appeared in an ad for Toyota after becoming the first woman in history to be offered a college football scholarship to play a skilled position. On Wednesday, Harris appeared on The Today Show.
“They don’t want females to play in this sport, and so if you want the chance, you do have to be so good they can’t ignore you.” -Toni Harris, first female football player to get a scholarship to play defense at four-year university pic.twitter.com/ik2K07Ptt2
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 27, 2019
Harris was signed by Bethany College, an NAIA program in Kansas to compete at safety this fall. In an interview, the team’s coach said they were looking “outside the box” for players to compete, and Harris fit the bill.
Harris explained how being doubted served as the fuel for her college career.
“I think my biggest pet peeve is people telling me that I can’t, so I have to prove them wrong.”
It isn’t just that Harris is turning heads as a football player, it’s the adversity she’s overcome in getting here.
“I did want to give up. I thought things were over." Toni Harris, first female football player to get a scholarship to play defense at four-year university, talks about receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis four years ago pic.twitter.com/YO4tP3lE2N
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 27, 2019
Harris said her favorite NFL team is the Seahawks, and while her path to her NFL dream is going to be difficult, as it is for any college football player, she has the drive and determination to make sure nothing will stand in her way.
What a truly inspirational athlete.