???? In 2019 American football player Toni” Harris, became the first woman to accept a scholarship to play football at a four-year college, Central Methodist University in Missouri.
Harris, according to theundefeated.com, came to notable attention when on February 3, during Super Bowl LIII, a Toyota commercial of RAV4 Hybrid debuted, featuring her and her quest to play football. Tens of millions of viewers saw Harris running, training, lifting weights and driving a Toyota.
Jim Nantz says: “They’ve said a lot of things about Toni Harris”. “They said she was too small. They said she was too slow. Too weak. They said she’d never get to the next level. Never inspire a new generation. Never get a football scholarship. Yeah, people have made a lot of assumptions about Toni.” Harris was put in foster care at the age of 4, ending up in three different homes by the age of 15 on Detroit’s West Side.
The Detroit native currently plays free safety for East Los Angeles Community College.
Harris who also starred in a Super Bowl commercial for Toyota became the first female football player to appear in an ad during the big game. The 23 year old chose Central Methodist over offers from Bethany College, Adams State University, Graceland University and Kentucky Christian University. “There have been so many women — I can’t even count, like over probably 100 or 200 — that contact me every day, whether in middle school, high school or getting ready to go to college, that want to play [football] at the next level,” she says. “They say I’m an inspiration and ask if I have any tips on how they can become better football players. I tell them to just keep pushing and working hard, and just never give up believing in yourself.” #blackhistory#football#women#blackwomen#inspiration#success#successstory#goals#blackgirlmagic#blackexcellence
