Colin Kaepernick has five siblings in total – a brother Kyle and a sister Devon from his adoptive family and three half-brothers Michael, Ethan, and Alex from his biological mother.
The former American football player was just 5 weeks old when he was adopted by Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, a white couple from Fond du Lac. The couple had lost two sons to heart defects but still had two children, a son named Kyle and a daughter named Devon. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback also has three half brothers, Michael, Ethan, and Alex, from his birth mother, Heidi Russo’s marriage to Heath Russo.
Colin Kaepernick will forever be remembered as the former pro-NFL quarterback who in 2016 started kneeling at the beginning of NFL games in open protest of police brutality and racial inequalities which had become rampant at the time. Many want to know more about his immediate family members and this article focuses on everything there is to know about the adoptive brother and sister of Colin Kaepernick.
Neither Of Colin Kaepernick’s Siblings Was Adopted
As mentioned previously, Colin’s adoptive parents weren’t in any desperate need of a child when they adopted Colin. Granted that they had just been through the worst experience any parent can go through with the painful loss of two sons from genetic heart defects, but they still had two children, one son and one daughter.
Similarly, after Colin’s birth mother, Heidi Russo gave a five-week-old Colin up for adoption, she moved on with her life, making a career for herself as a Registered Nurse and eventually getting married years later to Heath Russo. That marriage resulted in three sons being born and not adopted.
It essentially means that Colin has five siblings, three half brothers, from his birth mother and two siblings from his adoptive parents, Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. The show Colin in Black & White is a fictional representation of Colin Kaepernick’s life and what it meant to grow up in a predominantly white environment not just at home but also in the California area where his family moved to when Colin was 4 years old.
Kyle Kaepernick Is Colin Kaepernick’s Older Brother Whom He Grew Up With
One of the two biological children of Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, Kyle Kaepernick is Colin Kaepernick’s older brother. Unlike his adopted younger sibling, Kyle prefers to live his life away from the glare and scrutiny of the public and as such not much is known about him.
Certain sources have revealed that he was born in Wisconsin and his date of birth is November 29, however, those sources do not reveal the exact year of his birth. The fact that he had already been born before his parents adopted a then 5-week-old Colin shows that he is a few years older than the now published author, civil rights activist, and former NFL star.
Like almost every other aspect of his life, not much is known about Kyle Kaepernick’s formal education background. The only information available in the public domain comes from a statement made by his father when Colin was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.
In a 2011 interview with Turlock journal, a rather emotional Rick had revealed that he had broken down in joyous tears when both Kyle and his sister graduated from Cal Poly but not for Colin who was then playing football at LA Tech.
That interview essentially made it clear to the public that Kyle Kaepernick had graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. What was not revealed however was what course of study he graduated from. Colin speaks favorably about his adopted family.
He also credits them for the support he received from every one of them, including Kyle as it helped him navigate the pitfalls of growing up as one of few black kids in an environment mostly inhabited by white folks. Kyle is happily married to a woman named Lindsay.
Who is Colin Kaepernick’s Sister?
Colin Kaepernick has previously expressed the sense of joy and fulfillment he gets from spending time with members of his adoptive family. It would appear however that he is much closer to his only sister Devon. Like her older biological brother, Devon Kaepernick prefers to live her life away from the full glare of the public. Unlike Kyle though, she is more outgoing and hangs out more with Colin.
Devon Kaepernick was reportedly born on December 4 in Wisconsin, although her exact year of birth was also not mentioned. Like Kyle, Devon is a few years older than Colin but their relationship as siblings doesn’t really reflect how much older she is. The similarities between Colin Kaepernick’s siblings extend to the fact that they both graduated from the same higher institution, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis, Obispo.
Colin Kaepernick challenged anyone to tell him they had a better sister in a December 2012 Instagram post he dedicated to his sister on her birthday. Returning the favor, Devon called him the best brother in the world in a captioned post made in November 2013 at her wedding.
Colin’s close relationship with his only sister also extends to members of her immediate family as can be seen when she posted a picture in July 2015 of her son Ezekiel with a football and temporary tattoos with identical inscriptions to the one on the skin of the former NFL star.
Colin Kapernick Has Three Other Siblings From His Birth Mother
As most people already know, Colin Kaepernick’s biological father is no longer in the picture after abandoning him before he was even born. A few years back, however, his birth mother, Heidi Russo, resurfaced in his life and sought to have a closer relationship with him but he has since rebuffed all her attempts at reigniting a mother-son relationship.
Colin’s birth mother has a family of her own and has been married to Heath Russo. The marriage has produced three children, all sons, and half-brothers of Colin Kaepernick. His first half-brother was born on January 10, 2003, and named Michael. His second half-brother was born 7 years later on August 11, 2010, and goes by the name Ethan.
At the moment, the youngest of Colin Kaepernick’s half-siblings is a boy called Alex. Alex was born on June 7, 2012. All three boys currently live with Colin’s birth mother, Heidi, in Broomfield, Wisconsin and it is unclear if the iconic civil rights activist has any relationship with them.
Colin Kaepernick’s Siblings Live In California
Like the former NFL star himself, Colin Kapernick’s siblings from his adoptive family both live in the city of Turflook, California. His older brother lives with his wife Lindsay but it is not publicly known if they have any children yet. Devon Kaepernick is also married and lives with her husband and two kids in the same city as Kyle.
