Tests get tougher for Herschel Walker with revelation of children

During the GOP primary, Herschel Walker’s rivals assailed his strategy to limit public appearances and avoid debating them.

They said he was untested.

That wasn’t completely true. There had already been reports about Walker’s history of mental illness and threats of violence against women. He also had claimed he graduated from college when he had not, and he exaggerated his business record and made bizarre statements promoting a purported coronavirus cure.

The tests grew harder this week. First, he faced scrutiny for claiming publicly on numerous occasions that he had worked in law enforcement. He had not.

The Daily Beast then stepped up the degree of difficulty when it reported that Walker has a 10-year-old son he supports financially but does not see. The child’s mother sued Walker in 2013, a year after giving birth, to obtain a declaration of paternity and child support, according to court records.

A day later, Walker confirmed that he had two other children whom he had apparently never mentioned in public before.

“I have four children. Three sons and a daughter. They’re not ‘undisclosed’ — they’re my kids,” Walker said in a statement released by his campaign. “I support them all and love them all. I’ve never denied my children.”

The first, a daughter, was born when he was a star running back at the University of Georgia. Walker also said he has a 13-year-old son.

Until this week, the only child he had spoken about publicly — including frequent mentions during the campaign at public appearances and in interviews — was his 22-year-old son, Christian, who was born during Walker’s first marriage to Cindy Grossman.

He said he “just chose not to use (the other children) as props to win a political campaign,” Walker’s statement said. “What parent would want their child involved in garbage, gutter politics like this?”

It is unclear what role Walker has played in the children’s lives.

Walker said he acknowledged the four children on a form he provided to the federal government when he was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition by President Donald Trump in 2018. The form is not publicly accessible but was provided to the AJC.

Walker has criticized other fathers, particularly in the Black community, who have abandoned their children.

“I tell people this, I say, ‘I want all African Americans out there to know, even though you may leave the mom, don’t leave the child,’” Walker said in an interview last month with Atlanta rapper Killer Mike.

“Continue to be a dad,” he said. “Continue to be a strong figure in that child’s life.”

Parenting can be difficult at times. Walker’s opponent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, has also had child support and custody issues. In a legal filing earlier this year, his ex-wife, Ouluye Ndoye, asked for more child support because Warnock’s income has increased. She also wants additional custody of their two children so she can spend time outside the state to complete a program at Harvard University. Warnock and Ndoye co-parent the children.

Herschel Walker