THE DRAMA OF THE GIFTED CHILD: Colin Kaepernick accuses white adoptive parents of ‘problematic’ upbringing, perpetuating racism.
One of these disagreements illustrated in the novel was a fight over his hairstyle.
Kaepernick, in an attempt to idolize basketball player Allen Iverson, wanted to embrace his blackness by wearing cornrows, but his mother pushed back.
“He’s getting what rolls?” his mother, Teresa, is cited as saying in the book.
In reality, she allegedly told him: “Oh, your hair’s not professional. Oh, you look like a little thug.”
The conversation with his mother has continued to impact Kaepernick’s life decades later, he said, even influencing his now-famous afro hairstyle.
“It also is informed why I have my hair long today,” Kaepernick said Thursday.
So for those keeping score at home, Kaepernick has compared police officers to pigs, compared the NFL draft to slavery, and his parents of perpetuating racism. To borrow a line Dennis Miller said regarding former President Obama, if Kaepernick’s “skin were any thinner, he’d have a reservoir tip on top of his head.”