Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has accused his adoptive parents of “perpetuating racism” in an interview aired on CBS News.
In his new graphic novel, “Change the Game,” Kaepernick shares his journey of coming to terms with his biracial identity while growing up in a white family.
He recalled disagreements with his parents that he attributed to racism, calling his upbringing “problematic.”
One particular incident that Kaepernick illustrated in the novel was a fight he had with his parents during high school over his hairstyle. He wanted to braid his hair in cornrows like his hero, NBA star Allen Iverson, but his parents were against it. His mother even said, “He’s getting what rolls?” when he suggested the idea.
The former San Francisco 49ers player said that these teenage interactions helped shape his decisions as an adult to embrace his ethnicity. “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,” he said in the interview.
Kaepernick’s decision to protest police brutality and racism by kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games drew national attention. Since then, he has become what some consider a social justice activist, and has partnered with various companies, including Netflix and Ben & Jerry’s.
Kapernick’s biological father abandoned him before he was even born, and his birth mother subsequently gave him up for adoption. Despite these challenges, Kapernick’s adoptive parents raised him as their own and provided him with a loving and stable upbringing.
They did such a good job that Kapernick was able to achieve great success in his professional career and is now worth an estimated $20 million.
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