NFL star was encouraged to ask Taylor Swift out before Travis Kelce did: ‘Not my type’

By Kelly Corbett | kcorbett@syracuse.comColin Kaepernick attends the Gordon Parks Foundation Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)Evan Agostini/Invision/APColin Kaepernick revealed in his newly published memoir that his mother once encouraged him to pursue a romantic relationship with Taylor Swift during his NFL career.The 38-year-old athlete shares the revelation in “The Perilous Fight,” published Tuesday. According to Kaepernick, his mother Teresa Kaepernick suggested the pairing when he played for the 49ers between 2011 and 2016.“When I was in the NFL, she told me that I should ask out Taylor Swift because we would be perfect together,” Kaepernick wrote in the book.The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback makes it clear he never acted on the suggestion. He wrote that Swift was “not (his) type,” though he meant no “slight to Taylor.”The former quarterback uses the anecdote to illustrate what he characterizes as a disconnect with his mother. He explained that her suggestion reinforced his view that she was not “capable of seeing who (he) really” was.Kaepernick provides additional context by contrasting his mother’s reactions to different relationships. He claims a photo of him with a white former classmate named Lindsay was displayed prominently, while his mother concealed a portrait of him with a Black classmate named Crystal in a drawer, regarding that relationship as “just a phase.”Both Kaepernick and Swift have established relationships with other partners. Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in 2023 and they married in July 2026. Kaepernick is married to radio host Nessa Diab, with whom he has a child born in 2022. Kelly Corbett is a Trending News Reporter for syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. She covers a wide range of topics from celebrity and TV news to store closings and product recalls. In addition to syracuse.com,...