Toni Harris, featured in Super Bowl ad, aspires to be 1st female NFL player
Toyota's new Super Bowl commercial features a college player who wants to make NFL history. Toni Harris is a defensive back for the East Los Angeles College Huskies and in addition to playing football in high school she was the homecoming queen. Yep, she.
Harris will be one of the few women ever to play college football. She's received multiple scholarship offers to four-year programs and while she still hasn't decided among them, she's set her sights on an even bigger goal: the NFL.
"I first developed an interest in football when I was about four – between four and six years old. People around me – they weren't too fond of me playing football. They said that I could get hurt a lot easier playing with guys," she said.
Harris said she's motivated by people telling her she can't do something.
"I love to prove people wrong … I was kicked off a team when I was younger because I was a girl. But once I got older and into high school, I mean, it still was hard but I just tried to pave my way through no matter what anybody said. It's my dream and I'm gonna protect it at any cost," she said.
Harris' goal is to become the first female NFL player. She hopes it will send a message to younger girls that nothing is impossible.
"Being a role model, it's an honor, but it's also a privilege because not every day everybody can stand up and be a role model for other people. And it's kind of hard. It's a lot of pressure, but I mean, I'm just paving the way for the next little girl that's gonna come along and be a role model as well."
To see Toyota's commercial, watch the video in the above player