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Chris Harris Jr. gets quality time (and manicure time) in with his girls off the field.

#GIRLDAD nfl champ chris harris jr. has scored big—in football and at home

ON THE FIELD, Chris Harris Jr. is a decorated NFL cornerback; off the field, he’s a proud #girldad, raising four daughters (Aria, 5, Avianna, 4, Aliyah, 2, and Amaris, 9 months) with his wife, Leah, here in the DFW area. They split their time between Prosper and wherever Harris plays—for nine seasons, he was with the Denver Broncos; now the family is looking for a house in L.A. since Harris signed with the Chargers. For the four-time Pro Bowler and 2016 Super Bowl champ, it wasn’t a straight shot to success: He went undrafted and worked his way to stardom.

Harris pays it forward by mentoring and serving underprivileged kids through his foundation. The Chris Harris Jr. Foundation, launched in 2012, works to give underpriviled youth unique opportunities—such as free youth football camps, back-to-school events, winter clothing drives and holiday shopping experiences. The foundation’s work is often done in partnership

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with other organizations, such as the Salvation systems and in our governments and organiArmy, Denver Children’s Home and Big zations, and that’s why they’re protesting. So I Brothers Big Sisters. (To learn more, check out didn’t bring her all the way in, but gave her a chrisharrisjr.com/foundation.) little bit of what’s going on.

Harris is hoping to pass his work ethic— Do you have any fears for your daughters and his love for helping people—on to his growing up in this environment? Oh yeah, I have daughters. “I’ve been blessed to be able to give great fears for them. The world’s just changing them anything they want, so [I hope they] do at a rapid pace. And little girls, they’re getting what interests them, as long as they’re doing it kidnapped every day. [Editor’s note: According for the good. Hopefully, they find something to the National Crime Information Center, that they love to do and have that Black children go missing at a higher drive to be great at it.” rate than white children.]

He admits that he fears And also for a Black for his daughters too, espewoman, just understandcially knowing the perseing the extra work and verance it takes for Black perseverance that they women to succeed. He have to do to be able to talked to us about being make it in this world. a girl dad—especially a Being a Black man, it’s Black girl dad—and how hard for us, but it’s probhe’s trying to spread love ably double time, triple in a turbulent world. times harder for a Black

What does being a girl woman to make it. dad mean to you? Just being Why do you say it’s even hardthere, being in their er for a black woman? lives. That’s really what they want is me being around and being able to talk to them and be interactive with “I TRY TO BE AN EXAMPLE You can just see it, the way the system is built. For me, I had to be perfect to make it here. I grew up in an them. Just being there anytime they need, as OF WHAT all-white town. It was one of the last cities to a friend too, and being able to guide them THEY still have segregation. A lot of people in my in life. What do you hope they learn from you? Definitely hard work. And the No. 1 thing is HOPEFULLY WILL MARRY family couldn’t even go to my school, so we have history right there where I’m from. It’s something just how a man should treat his wife, so they WHEN THEY that I know from just living life. Women in know how, when they get older and they GET OLDER.” general have it tough. They have to balance start dating, how a guy it all: the marriage, the is supposed to treat family, their job. They them. So that’s what I try to do—I try to be consistently sacrifice their wellbeing for othan example of what they hopefully will marry ers and are almost always underappreciated. when they get older. But then you add being a Black woman—

Dads often get a bad rap, especially Black it’s just another thing to balance, another dads. Do you ever feel judged or misrepresented? obstacle they have to work to overcome. I mean, there is a lot of Black fathers not Do you have any strong women in mind when involved in the kids’ lives. I’ve had to deal you say that, women who would be good examples with divorce and things like that in my family, for your daughters? My mom is definitely an so that’s a curse that has always been a goal example of a strong Black woman. She was a for me to break. That’s definitely what’s kept single mother, raising two kids on her own, me pushing. It was something that God pretty trying to give us the best life she could. I much told me: that Leah was my wife, and we think I turned out OK! My mother, my wife, both had curses in our families that we had my sister—they are all amazing examples. to break, and that’s something that he wanted How does the state of the world right now affect me to do. your foundation’s work? For me, it’s just spread

Have you talked to your girls about what’s going ing love. A lot of these kids are neglected— on with the Black Lives Matter protests? I haven’t they don’t have family, they don’t have a exposed them to any of that yet. The main support group, so that’s what I try to bring. thing I told [my oldest daughter] about the And hopefully from there, they see what we’re riots was that they’re just protesting to bring doing, how involved we are with them, that change. There’s a need for change for our they want to spread that same love.