Colin Kaepernick is opening up about a paternity dispute that lasted nearly two years while he was playing college football at the University of Nevada.
In his new memoir, The Perilous Fight, Kaepernick recalls briefly dating a freshman he identifies only as “Jennifer” in late 2007. Five months after their relationship ended, he says she called to tell him she was pregnant and believed the baby was his, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Kaepernick writes that he doubted the claim because they had used protection, but he also understood that a paternity test was the only way to resolve it. He says attempts to arrange testing stretched on for months while the disagreement became increasingly public.
A hospital test eventually found what Kaepernick describes as a “0 percent chance” that he was the father. Several months later, however, he says he received a child support order and learned that the earlier test would not satisfy the court proceeding.
Kaepernick Says the Dispute Continued for Months Before Testing
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick recalls ‘interminable saga’ over paternity drama with girlfriend he briefly dated his freshman year of college. https://t.co/Qrda4mFpl2
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 17, 2026
Kaepernick writes that he suggested a paternity test after learning about the pregnancy, but says Jennifer initially declined. During the months that followed, he claims she told other people that he had gotten her pregnant and was refusing to accept responsibility.
He also recounts hearing that the situation had been discussed at her church and says one of Jennifer’s friends later contacted him with a different account of the child’s paternity. Kaepernick presents those details as part of his own recollection of the dispute.
The situation was unfolding as his football career at Nevada accelerated. Kaepernick became the Wolf Pack’s starting quarterback in 2008 and went on to become one of the most accomplished players in the program’s history.
A Court-Approved Second Test Ended the Dispute
Kaepernick writes that he was required to go through the testing process again despite the earlier result. He took a second paternity test that met the court’s requirements and waited for another determination.
The result again excluded him as the child’s father. Kaepernick says that second test finally ended what he describes in the memoir as an “interminable saga” that had followed him through a significant portion of his college career.
The episode is one of several previously private stories Kaepernick recounts in The Perilous Fight. Legacy Lit published the memoir in hardcover and ebook editions on September 15, with an audiobook narrated by Kaepernick released the same day.
The book covers his childhood, college and NFL career, racial identity and the experiences that preceded his decision to protest during the national anthem in 2016.