By Claire Fahy / April 26, 2016
The linebacker sat hunched over one of Kerckhoff patio’s white metal tables, inconspicuous in a grey hoodie and sweats. A student in a bright yellow UCLA shirt approached him, offering his outstretched hand for a high-five.
“Hey man, I just wanted to say I’m a huge fan,” the student said before walking away.
Anthony Barr grinned widely, still embarrassed about being recognized. The former Bruin is a now a Minnesota Viking, making a name for both himself and UCLA in the NFL.
“It’s been cool to come back where it all started,” Barr said. “I feel like I owe this school so much just because they gave me a great platform to showcase my talents and my abilities.”
Looking around at the kids speed-walking their way to class, the linebacker is struck by the idea that all of this – the NFL career, the school records, his entire existence – almost never was. His mother learned she was pregnant with him at the age of 19, just as she was entering her third year of college.
“She could have decided ‘I don’t want to do any of this.’ She could’ve gave me up for adoption, she could have had an abortion,” Barr said. “She could have just been sitting on her butt at home all day instead of pursuing her education and working three jobs … Of anybody, I owe her the world because she really put me in this position to give me the opportunity to be successful.”
By Thuc Nhi Nguyen / May 9, 2016
After a long day, a weary Lori Barr came home and took off her Doc Martens. Her feet were sore from a morning of work as a teacher’s aide, a day of college classes and a night of waiting tables. She took off her socks, and her then-preschool-aged son offered to rub her feet.
Even then, Anthony Barr could tell how hard his mom worked.
“That was the end of the day: Mom’s tired,” said Anthony, a former standout running back at Loyola High turned NFL star via UCLA. “This is something that I can do for her because she does so much for me. Now that I’m looking back, we had to help each other out.”
Now two years into an NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings, the Pro Bowl linebacker wants to help not only his own mother, but others who found themselves in her situation.
Lori got pregnant as a 19-year-old college student and raised Anthony as a single parent while holding multiple jobs and continuing her education. Memories of his mother’s diligence and struggles inspired Anthony to launch the Anthony Barr Foundation to help single mothers pursue higher education while raising their children.
The charity, which launches June 4, offers scholarships for tuition and child care for single mothers as well as guidance toward additional resources like educational planning and safe day cares. The goal for the first window is 10 $10,000 scholarships, Lori said.