Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Najee Harris bit back at an ESPN announcer, who claimed Harris used to sleep on his dorm room floor while attending the University of Alabama after growing up homeless because “he’s just more comfortable, more used to that.”
ESPN announcer Steve Levy spoke of Harris with the other announcers during the Steelers’ victory over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. The announcers talked about Harris’ childhood, where he and his mom and siblings spent years living out of their car and in several homeless shelters in California.
“Even when he got to [University of] Alabama on a full ride, got the fancy dorm room, he spent the first few months in Alabama sleeping on the floor,” Levy said of Harris. “He said he’s just more comfortable, more used to that.”
The announcers’ comments can be heard here:
Harris posted a response to Levy’s story onTwitter. “Bra I ain’t sleep on no dam floor in college. I slept on my bed,” Harris replied.
Levy could have been confusing Harris’ story with that of former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, who grew up homeless in Oklahoma and now plays for the Las Vegas Raiders. A 2018 Bleacher Report story report highlighted how Jacobs slept on the floor during his first few months in college:
When he arrived at Alabama, Josh Jacobs spent his first few months sleeping on the floor in his dorm room. Not because he didn’t have a bed. But because after years of sleeping on couches, on motel floors and in the back seat of his father’s maroon Chevy Suburban, he was more comfortable there.
Harris recently used his position to help other families in need by renovating a California homeless shelter that Harris, his mother, and older siblings stayed in a decade ago. Through a partnership between Harris’ own foundation, Da’ Bigger Picture Foundation, and Lowe’s, the Greater Richmond (California) Interfaith Program (GRIP) will be receiving a much-needed facelift.
Before the NFL draft, Najee Harris hosted a party at GRIP, giving out pizza, drinks and dessert. Courtesy Nicole Jones/GRIP
“The first thing Najee Harris wanted to replace was the carpet,” ESPN reported, and continued:
It was once blue-green. But the short-looped industrial weave that covered the floors at the Greater Richmond (California) Interfaith Program (GRIP) had faded into a stained amalgamation from shoe prints of more than 20 years, traces of countless families looking for a fresh start.
The shoes of Harris, his mom and his four older siblings walked over that carpet when they arrived at the Richmond shelter more than a decade ago. This was the last of several shelters the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back and his family stayed in during his childhood, a time when they faced multiple evictions and a stint living in a van at Golden Gate Park.
Tianna Hicks, Najee Harris’ mom, was part of the group that helped upgrade GRIP through a partnership between Da’ Bigger Picture Foundation and Lowe’s. She worked on painting a mural of the ocean that can be viewed at the children’s playground. Courtesy Nicole Jones/GRIP
“We have people that donate money, but having Najee is different,” said Siu Laulea, who was the case manager for Harris’ family during its stay at GRIP. “He wanted to upgrade the place. … [The residents] feel like it’s more like a home. It’s not like a facility, because of the color of the floor we have. And with a different-color paint, it’s just a warm feeling. The vibe we do get from the residents, it’s a different vibe.”
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