Colin Kaepernick, an activist and athlete, and his partner Nessa Diab announced the birth of their first child on Sunday.
“Colin and I welcomed our amazing baby to the world a few weeks ago and we are over the moon with our growing family,” Diab wrote on Instagram along with a photo of the couple and their newborn.
The announcement was made by Diab, a radio and television host, just before presenting MTV’s red carpet show at the Video Music Awards on Sunday night. She cited “today is the first day in a few weeks where I stepped out for work with a new life title — MOM” as the reason she decided on the timing of her announcement.
“Recovering after delivery has been a journey (more on that later) and honestly I wasn’t going to share anything because this is sooooo personal to us and I realized I’m a complete mama bear!” the new mother went on.
“Colin is the most amazing dad and I’m soooo grateful that he is by our side for every moment of this journey.”
“I know sharing this allows me to connect with you in different ways that I never imagined,” Diab wrote. “My conversations and life experiences have already changed. And my world has gotten that much bigger thanks to our sweet little baby who has shown me how to love in ways I never knew.”
Diab did not mention the child’s name or gender in her post, but instead signed it from “The Kaepernicks.”
Since 2016, Kaepernick and Diab have been dating. While playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick, 34, caused a stir by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem to denounce racial injustice and police brutality. Although the player hasn’t participated in an NFL game in five years, he trained with the Las Vegas Raiders in May.