Herschel Walkeris no stranger to the spotlight. He first rose to fame as a college football player as a running back for the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. After college, he was eventually drafted to the NFL, where he played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and New York Giants, throughout his time in the league from 1986 to 1997.
In more recent years, Walker has made his political affiliations public, supporting former PresidentDonald Trumpin his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. In 2021, the former football player announced his candidacy to run for the U.S. Senate in Georgia against incumbent Sen.Raphael Warnock.Walker is the Republican candidate for the 2022 midterm elections for the Senate in Georgia.
Walker became embroiled in controversy in June 2022 when it was reported that he had a secret child with an unknown woman, and he’s estranged from his second son, per The Daily Beast. The findings were revealed as part of a paternity case from 2014, when the son was two years old. Additionally, in October of 2022 a woman claimed that she had an abortion, paid for by Herschel after she fell pregnant with him. The political hopeful denied the claims, but the same woman later came forward on October 6 to reveal to The Daily Beast that she had a child by Herschel following the abortion.
Find out everything you need to know about Walker’s son and three other children here.
Christian Walker
After college, Walker marriedCindy DeAngelis Grossman,and she gave birth to the pair’s only sonChristian,22, in 1999. Herschel and Cindy divorced in 2002. Christian shares his dad’s political views, and he regularly posts about his conservative beliefs on his social media. He hosts a podcast calledUncancellable,which he describes as “an anti-woke, pro-common sense podcast focusing on bringing the fun back to pop culture” in the description. Christian has also been open about his sexuality, saying that he is attracted to men, but he does not identify as gay, as he revealed in a June 2022 tweet.
Christian is a student at UCLA, and he’s claimed that he’s received threats because of his political beliefs. “I have one quarter left of school, and my mom begged me to drop out because of the threats I’ve received from radical leftists on campus… because I’m a conservative. This is the life of students who question or disagree with leftism at a top university,” he wrote in a March 2022 Instagram post.
Herschel has spoken about his relationship with his son, and how close the pair are during a June 2022 interview withrapperKiller Mike.“He’s responsible for himself. He’s at an age now that he’s got to answer to his own Christian beliefs. I can’t answer for him,” Herschel said of his son, per People.“I taught him to be a good kid. I taught him education. But one thing about it, I love this kid to death.”
10-year-old son
While Walker has been outspoken about his relationship with his son Christian, a report fromThe Daily Beastfound that the Senate candidate had been named in a 2014 paternity lawsuit by the child’s mother who sued him for child support and to receive a declaration of paternity. A source close to the son’s family told the outlet that the child receives birthday and Christmas presents from his dad, but the Republican hopeful doesn’t play an active role in parenting the child.
This was a shocking revelation, given how vocal Walker has been about absent fathers in his campaign rhetoric and public interviews. “You can leave the wife, but don’t leave your child,” he said during a September 2020 appearance onThe Charlie Kirk Show. He made a similar point while chatting with conservative comedy personalitiesDiamond and Silk.
Walker’s campaign managerScott Paradiseconfirmed that the former footballer did indeed have a child. “Herschel had a child years ago when he wasn’t married. He’s supported the child and continues to do so. He’s proud of his children. To suggest that Herschel is ‘hiding’ the child because he hasn’t used him in his political campaign is offensive and absurd,” he said in a statement toThe Daily Beast. He also accused Walker’s opponent Raphael Warnock of engaging in a “mudslinging campaign” and an attempted coverup of a “nasty custody dispute with his ex-wife.”
2 other children
According to a statement given June 15 to The Daily Beast, Herschel confirmed that that he has two additional children, aside from Christian and the 10-year-old child. Herschel denied ever trying to keep the children under wraps. “I have four children,” he said in a statement to the publication. “Three sons and a daughter. They’re not ‘undisclosed’ — they’re my kids. I support them all and love them all.”
Herschel continued, saying that he has deliberately kept them from being a part of the current political discussion. “I’ve never denied my children, I confirmed this when I was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, I just chose not to use them as props to win a political campaign,” he said. “What parent would want their child involved in garbage, gutter politics like this?”
