Colin Kaepernick Accuses His Parents of 'Problematic' Upbringing

Colin Kaepernick is opening up about his parents and upbringing. During an interview with CBS News, the former NFL quarterback said he experienced pushback from Rick and Teresa Kaepernick when he was younger. Colin Kaepernick is biracial but identifies as Black. 

"I know my parents loved me, but there were still very problematic things that I went through," Kaepernick, 35, said in the interview. "I think it was important to show, 'No, this can happen in your own home.' And how do we move forward collectively while addressing the racism that is being perpetuated."

Kaepernick went on to talk about how he wanted to get cornrows, and his mom pushed back calling the hairstyle "unprofessional" and that he would look like "a little thug." He then added: "I think it was important to show, 'No, this can happen in your own home.' And how do we move forward collectively while addressing the racism that is being perpetuated."

Kaepernick's upbringing is documented in the Netflix limited series Colin in Black & White which was released in October 2021. He was an executive producer on the series along with Ava DuVernay.  "I wasn't [originally] sure that this was something that appealed to me," DuVernay told Yahoo at the time. "I wasn't sure that it would be something that I could make into a piece that would appeal to other people until I started to hear the stories. He started to tell me the stories of his high school years. I had no idea that he was a Black adopted child of two white, well-meaning, loving parents who lived in an all-white town and who didn't quite know how to raise him as a Black kid."

Kaepernick was being interviewed by CBS News to promote his book called Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game. The graphic novel reveals his early years before he became an NFL player and an activist. "You know, very similar to the messaging of the book is I don't have control over all of these situations. But I control how I respond to it, I control how I prepare for it, and I'm a believer that in doing that, good things will happen," he said. Kaepernick last played in the NFL in 2016, the same year he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality in the United States.