Colin Kaepernick was a NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers for five years until 2016. He is most famous for protesting black inequality by refusing to stand for the national anthem during a NFL game.

Fame

Family

Colin Rand Kaepernick was born on November 3, 1987, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was only half a month old when he was adopted by Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. They already had two children of their own but had lost two different infants due to birth defects.

Kaepernick's biological mother, Heidi Russo, was 19 when he was born. Faced with the harsh possibility of bringing up her child all alone, she thought about the option of giving him for adoption because his biological father had bailed on them when he found out she was pregnant. In the wake of meeting the Kaepernicks, who had been acquainted with her through a typical companion, she chose to give up her young kid so that he could have a better life.

Career

Although he was a rising football star, Colin became a cultural icon when he brought social justice to the field. Kaepernick wound up involved in a debated issue when he would not kneel during a preseason NFL game in late August 2016 when the national anthem was playing.

In an interview, he explained the reason for his actions, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way."

The move ended getting him blacklisted from the NFL because a lot of the owners did not want to anger their fan base by having a controversial quarterback.

Personal Life

Relationships

Colin’s girlfriend, Nessa Diab is a 37-year-old alumni of the University of California, Berkeley. She experienced childhood in a Muslim family in Southern California with her two siblings. Her folks are from Egypt. Nessa first rose to fame when she appeared on MTV’s Girl Code. At present, she is a host for New York City's Hot 97 radio station.

Nessa started dating Colin Kaepernick in July 2015. The couple opened up to the world about their relationship in February 2016. She has remained close as he has battled to bring attention to and end the negative feedback he has been since he took a knee during the national anthem.