College Football Star Toni Harris Talks Making History

The Knowles women aren’t the only ones doing what they can to save Black History Month. Meet Toni Harris, the first female football player to get a scholarship to play defense at a four-year university. Ever.

The 22-year-old living legend sat down on TODAY this morning and opened up about making history and more. It turns out, she’s not only badass because of her abilities on a football field—she was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer at just 18 years old, yet here she stands.

Harris tells TODAY:

“I did want to give up. I thought things were over.”

But the young warrior is strong—and certainly it was her mindset about the word “can’t” that helped to keep her going in dark times.

“I think my biggest pet peeve is people telling me that I can’t, and so I have to prove them wrong,” she said.

She also had her family, friends, and pastors by her side. Peep the clip up top to get familiar with the young football star if you don’t already know her name, plus the full interview here. Salute, Queen!