Heidi Russo
Heidi Russo is the biological mother of San Francisco 49ers star Colin Kaepernick.
Her son has sparked major controversy after he sat down through the playing of the The Star-Spangled Banner during a preseason game last week. Kaepernick, who has been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, later explained it was a protest against racial injustice in America.
Russo felt the need to express her disappointment after her 28-year-old son recent refusal to stand during the national anthem. She tweeted at her son saying:
‘There’s ways to make change w/o disrespecting & bringing shame to the very country & family who afforded you so many blessings.’
Heidi Russo who is the mother of three other children, ages, 12, 6 and 3, also had to defend herself after many attacked her for criticizing her Colin. She tweeted at haters basically saying, disagreeing with Kaepernick doesn’t mean she doesn’t love him.
Russo got pregnant with Colin as a teenager. Their relationship has been rocky to say the least.
She raised him for the first six weeks of his life. It was round around the time he was adopted by Rick and Terersa Kaepernick.
She was born Heidi Zabransky. Now 48-year-old Heidi Russo a registered nurse, is currently married to Heath Russo and together they are the parents to three sons, Michael, Ethan and Alex.
The wife and mother of four is also the Co-Founder of Linked Thru Love. She is an advocate for ‘changing stigmas & stereotypes for birthmothers & adoption.’
Russo says on her website “Three Strands”
As a child, I didn’t dream about being a pregnant teenager. In fact, I dreamed about getting married and having a large family. But despite my dreams, I found myself pregnant and abandoned by the man I believed loved me. I was alone, broken and pregnant at 18 years old. I came to realize that my son deserved a better life than I could provide for him; he deserved the BEST life.
Prior to launching Three Strands –a non-profit organization serving BirthMoms in an effort to change the stigmas and stereotypes that have shamed them for decades –she worked as an ICU nurse and Hospital Supervisor for 17 years. According to her Facebook page, she worked at Good Samaritan Medical Center.
The Wisconsin native currently resides with her family in Thornton, Colorado.
Thought on her tweet to Colin?
You can check out Heidi Russo on Twitter here.
