Colin Kaepernick: Hard to have conversations with loved ones about perpetuating ‘problematic elements’

Colin Kaepernick and Eve L. Ewing, co-authors of the former NFL quarterback’s graphic novel, “Change the Game,” talked Thursday about responses they’ve received from readers of the book.

Kaepernick, who criticized his White adoptive parents earlier this month, told Ewing he’s received a lot of feedback about different family dynamics.

“I’ve had a lot of responses from other trans-racial adoptees on that front. Just like having similar experiences and having similar family dynamics that they’re trying to navigate,” the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback said. “And I think it’s because it is so unique.

“It is very difficult for people to have a nuanced conversation around it to be, like, yeah, the people that love you and that you love can also perpetuate very problematic elements, and those things can exist at the same time. And part of it is, like, how do you grapple with that? How do you navigate that? And especially at a young age? And it’s, like, are you equipped to navigate that and are your parents equipped to navigate that?”

His remarks came after he accused his adoptive parents of “perpetuating racism” in an interview with CBS. He recalled disagreements with his parents that he attributed to racism, calling his upbringing “problematic.”

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“I know my parents loved me. But there were still very problematic things that I went through,” the biracial former quarterback told CBS News.

“I think it was important to show that, no, this can happen in your own home, and how we move forward collectively while addressing the racism that is being perpetuated.”

Kaepernick illustrated one specific example of this in the novel, depicting a fight he had with his parents during high school over his hairstyle.

Inspired to braid his hair in cornrows like his hero, NBA star Allen Iverson, Kaepernick recalled getting pushback from his parents.

“He’s getting what rolls?” his mom says in the graphic novel. 

Kaepernick said that after styling his hair this way, his mother suggested his hair was “not professional” and he “looked like a little thug.”

The former football player turned social justice activist said these teenage interactions helped shape his decisions as an adult to embrace his ethnicity.

“Those become spaces where it’s like, ‘OK, how do I navigate the situation now?’ But it also has informed why I have my hair long today,” Kaepernick told CBS.

Kaepernick drew national attention when he started protesting during the national anthem, kneeling on the field during NFL games to protest police brutality and racism.

Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.