As a teen, Colin Kaepernick was informed by his white adoptive parents that cornrows looked unprofessional – an action he believes perpetuated racism. He experienced multiple troublesome events while living under their roof, asserting they had a role in reinforcing racial injustice.
At only a few days old, Kaepernick was welcomed into the loving home of Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, hailing from Fond du Lac in Wisconsin. When he turned four they relocated to Turlock, California so he could experience life on the west coast.
Sadly, they endured the loss of two sons due to congenital heart defects. Despite this hardship, their family was still blessed with two beautiful biological children.
Kaepernick, the legendary ex-NFL player who spearheaded the take-a-knee movement, was aware that people “loved him”; however, he also had to experience “very problematic things”.
While speaking to CBS in order to publicize his graphic comic memoir, Kaepernick used the example of his mother warning him that corn rows were not suitable for work.
He alleged that when he displayed her his new hairstyle, she scornfully described him as a “little thug”.
“I know my parents loved me.”
“But there were still very problematic things that I went through,” he stated.
Despite Kaepernick’s passionate advocacy against racism, his parents have been silent on the matter and have yet to publicly address it.
In a passionate ESPN article, before he sparked his movement against the NFL, Kaepernick’s parents happily told of their exuberance upon bringing him home.
His father, a long-time business executive at a cheese company, expounded: “It all went really smoothly.”
“I know it’s not usually that smooth with adoptions, but it was.”
“Colin never had any adoption issues at all.”
“The only difference is his skin is a little bit browner than ours.”
His mother said: “I’ll never forget that day.”
“They brought him in an infant carrier and set him down. The birth mother was there.”
“I looked at her and she nodded and I just picked him up out of the carrier. The minute I picked him up, I just cried.”
“We gave her a big hug. And she needed a couple more minutes. And then we left.”
His birth mother, at the tender age of nineteen, made the difficult decision to relinquish her parental rights when he was only five weeks old.
Kaepernick was a renowned football player at John H. Pitman High School, an illustrious public school located in Turlock.
After earning his college degree in 2011, he secured a football scholarship to the University of Nevada in Reno. Following graduation, he quickly signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
