Colin Kaepernick’s biological parents are Heidi Russo and an unidentified African-American man, however, his adoptive parents, Rick and Teresa Kaepernick adopted him after losing two sons themselves to congenital heart defects.
Colin Kaepernick’s status as one of the premier civil rights activists in the United States of America today was acquired as a result of the quite frankly, bold decision to not rise during the country’s national anthem at a game that involved his former NFL team in 2016. The former San Francisco 49ers actually just sat down at that game but began taking a knee in subsequent games. It was a movement that triggered a lot of his fellow NFL stars and indeed the rest of the sporting world to follow suit and was designed to eradicate all forms of racial injustices.
Who Are Colin Kaepernick’s Real Parents?
As mentioned earlier, Colin Kaepernick’s birth father is an unidentified black American who hasn’t been in the picture of Colin’s life before he was even born. His birth mother, on the other hand, has been identified as Heidi Russo, a certified/registered nurse who works and lives in Broomfield, Denver, Colorado.
She is also the co-founder of an advocacy group called Linked Thru’ Love. The group focuses on helping women who are subjected to the stereotypes that surround birth mothers and adoption.
Colin Kaepernick’s Parents’ Race
Colin Kaepernick’s birth father is reportedly an African-American of Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Ivory Coast descent. His birth mother, Heidi Russo on the other hand, was born into a family of Italian ancestry. This information paints a clear picture of why Colin Kaepernick has a skin color that makes him identify with the colored part of his ancestry rather than that of his adopted parents who are predominantly Caucasians.
When Was Colin Kaepernick Adopted By His Current Parents?
Colin Kaepernick was adopted 5 weeks after he was born on November 3, 1987, by a couple from Fond du lac named Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. The former NFL star’s mother, Heidi Russo found out she was pregnant at the quite young age of 19 and as her due date approached, she became increasingly convinced that she could not care for her unborn baby the way she would want to.
It should be emphasized though that the decision to give him up for adoption was made in spite of the assurances she got from her own parents to help her out the best way they could. They were assurances that were insufficient for Heidi and when Colin was just 5 weeks old, his new family, the Kaepernicks, adopted him.
Colin’s adoptive mother, Teresa Kaepernick, reportedly worked as a nurse when Colin was a child while his father, Rick Kaepernick, worked as the operations manager for Hilmar Cheese company during Colin’s childhood. It is unclear what they are up to these days.
Does Colin Kaepernick Have A Relationship With His Birth Parents?
Presently, the answer to that question is no. Colin has no relationship whatsoever with his birth parents. He doesn’t even know who his birth father is and only just found out about his birth mother. Both his biological mother and adoptive mother have however admitted to the fact that Heidi Russo, his birth mother, kept in touch with the Kaepernick family and was regularly updated on the welfare of the son she gave up. This continued until Colin was 7 years old.
In all that time though, Colin never met Heidi and the communication between the two families came to an abrupt end when the Kaepernicks left Wisconsin with Colin for Los Angeles, California. Both sets of parents lost contact with each other and effectively put an end to any form of relationship Colin would have had with his birth mother.
Is Colin Kaepernick Close To His Biological Parents?
Colin Kaepernick is not close to his biological parents. He doesn’t also appear to want to be either. Several publications have revealed that the civil rights activist’s mother resurfaced in his life when he was 18 years old. She wrote him a letter to tell him that she was his birth mother and after confirming that the contents of the letter were true, Colin reacted in a way that surely put smiles on the faces of his adoptive parents.
He initially reacted by completely ignoring his birth mother and maintaining his stance on the fact that the only family he wanted to be a part of was the Kaepernicks. Over time, his birth mother, Heidi Russo has made several overtures to get close to Colin but he remains unconvinced.
She was even accused of wanting to get close to the former athlete because of his money but she categorically denied those accusations by stating that she only wanted a relationship with the son she abandoned for most of his life.
Does Colin Kaepernick Still Talk To His Birth Parents?
Like almost everything regarding his birth family, Colin Kaepernick maintains absolute silence when it comes to communication. The tenuous flow of communication between him and his birth mother was rendered effectively non-existent in the aftermath of Colin’s civil disobedience of not rising for the national anthem and then taking a knee in subsequent NFL games to protest police brutality and racial violence.
It was a move that ultimately cost Colin Kaepernick his football career as he was essentially blackballed by the team owners in the NFL franchise. And while a lot of people applauded Colin’s move to seek justice, there were still a lot of others who were convinced that he was on the wrong side of things and that he had taken a wrong approach to address the entire issue.
One of those who were critical of Colin’s actions was his birth mother, Heidi Russo. Her words were especially harsh, scathing, and certainly cutting as she claimed that he had brought disgrace on his family and a nation who gave him everything.
Even though she eventually tried to soften the blow that her words delivered by saying that she agreed with Colin Kaepernick’s fight for justice and only wished he had gone about it a different way, the damage had been done and surely shut the door on any hopes of communication between the two.
Colin Kaepernick’s Relationship With His Adoptive Parents
Colin Kaepernick has a really good relationship with his adoptive parents, Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. The couple, who already had a son, Kyle Kaepernick, and a daughter, Devon Kaepernick, were not really desperate for another child. In fact, it has been revealed that they actually wanted a white baby and there was none available. They agreed to take Colin after falling in love with him immediately they set their eyes on him.
Growing up in a predominantly white family and by extension, a predominantly white neighborhood wasn’t an easy experience for a young Colin who struggled to express his innermost feelings about his skin color. The experience became easier as time progressed because of the love and support he got from his parents and siblings. It is an experience Colin has said he could only go through with his family, the Kaepernicks by his side.
How Much Are Colin Kaepernick’s Parents Worth?
As stated earlier, not much is known about what Colin’s parents do for a living at the moment and as such, it’s quite difficult to determine their net worth. His birth mother is reportedly worth over $100k from her career as a cardiac nurse.
