In case you needed another reason to seriously dislike Colin Kaepernick, here it is.
In an interview with CBS News that aired Thursday, former NFL QB and original anthem-protester Colin Kaepernick accused his adoptive white parents, who took him in at five weeks old, of “perpetuating racism.”
Talking about his new novel, Change the Game, Kaepernick talked about disagreements he had with his white parents. Disagreements he characterized as “problematic” and attributed to racism.
ABC News Studios hosts a screening event of Killing County” from Executive Producer Colin Kaepernick in Burbank, California, on February 9, 2023. (Phil McCarten/ABC via Getty Images) COLIN KAEPERNICK
“I know my parents loved me. But there were still very problematic things that I went through,” Kaepernick told CBS News.
“I think it was important to show that, no, this can happen in your own home, and how we move forward collectively while addressing the racism that is being perpetuated,” he added.
Specifically, Kaepernick addressed one incident when his adoptive mother voiced concern about his decision to braid his hair in cornrows like one of his favorite NBA players Allen Iverson.
After getting his hair braided, Kaepernick’s mother warned that his hair looked “not professional” and “a little thug.”
Kaepernick told CBS News, “Those become spaces where it’s like, ‘Okay, how do I navigate the situation now?’ But it also has informed why I have my hair long today.”
OCTOBER 28: Colin Kaepernick arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix’s “Colin In Black And White” at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 28, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/WireImage,)
The former anthem protester gained national headlines in 2016 when he first sat, then knelt, during the playing of the national anthem. Kaepernick told reporters at the time that he launched his protests to draw attention to police brutality and racism.
Kaepernick’s mother, Heidi Russo, was a teenager when she became pregnant. Kaepernick’s biological father was a black man who reportedly ended the relationship with Russo after learning she was pregnant. Russo’s parents agreed to support her during her pregnancy but advised her to put her baby up for adoption after birth due to her young age.
Colin was adopted by Teresa and Rick Kaepernick.
As the child of a teenage mother, life could have certainly gone a much more different and negative way if the Kaepernicks hadn’t adopted him. However, like the NFL, the police, and the country itself, it seems like no one who helps Colin Kaepernick is above being called a racist. Not even his parents.
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