Not many of us had singer Ciara being related to legendary Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter on our 2024 Bingo card, but here we are.
In a recent episode of PBS’ Finding Your Roots, Ciara found out she’s a distant relative of Jeter when the host of the show, Henry Louis Gates Jr., detailed to her that, “a long identical stretch of DNA on their 14th chromosome” was discovered from Jeter’s mother.
“What the World?!”
@Ciara finds out she is #DNACousins with legendary New York Yankee player, #DerekJeter.
Stream the full #FindingYourRoots episode using the @PBS app or go to https://t.co/Ef0VMgEHWq. pic.twitter.com/KiKcvjnh7j
— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) January 2, 2024
“What the world?!” Ciara yelled on the show. “You are kidding me. Derek Jeter! That’s crazy.”
Ciara’s husband, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson took to social media to joke that he wasn’t surprised his wife and the Hall of Famer were related.
“Always knew it!” He wrote.
Always knew it! 😂 @Yankees Captain! @DerekJeter @Ciara 🏆 https://t.co/nEydwYh8qr
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) January 2, 2024
And to make things even more connected, Wilson has his own tie to the pinstripes.
Back in 2010, he was a fourth-round pick by the Colorado Rockies — fast forward several years, he was acquired by the Yankees in 2018 from the Texas Rangers. He arrived at camp for the Yankees the following spring and completely participated, even receiving compliments from superstar Aaron Judge.
“Man, he was going 110 percent around the bases and in the cage taking hacks,” Judge told MLB.com. “He wants to be perfect in every single thing. I was like, ‘Hey man, you’re a quarterback. You ain’t a baseball player! Just take it easy.’ But that’s how he is, and how he prepares. He wants to prepare like he’s going in the game. That’s how professionals do it.”
Wilson even mentioned how he grew up a Yankees fan, and yes — a fan of Jeter.
[MLB.com]
