Even for a man known for his singularly inflated and overactive ego, this is pretty ice cold:
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick accused his adoptive parents of "perpetuating racism" in an interview that aired Thursday.
Kaepernick talked about coming to terms with his racial identity while growing up in a White family in his new graphic novel, "Change the Game." The former football player recalled disagreements with his parents that he attributed to racism, calling his upbringing "problematic."
"I know my parents loved me. But there were still very problematic things that I went through," the biracial quarterback said to CBS News.
Just for reference, Kaep's father abandoned him before he was born. His mother subsequently gave him up for adoption. The deck was stacked against him from the start.
And yet his adoptive parents raised him as their own, apparently well enough that he rose to one of the most elite stations in modern U.S. society — a professional sports team — and is now worth $20 million.
So what could his parents have possibly done to merit their being publicly lambasted by their son to whom they apparently gave a stellar and loving upbringing?
Inspired to braid his hair in cornrows like his hero, NBA star Allen Iverson, Kaepernick recalled receiv[ing] 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 mom warned his hair was "not professional" and he "looked like a little thug."
Um. That's it?
Responses on social media, meanwhile, were less than kind:
