佐治亚州共和党参议员候选人赫歇尔·沃克(Herschel Walker)周三承认，他有一个10岁的男孩，但他从未公开谈论过这个男孩。

沃克有一个小儿子的消息《每日野兽》周二首次报道并得到沃克竞选团队的证实。

沃克作为父母的参与问题使人们重新关注这样一个事实，即沃克一再谈到做一个积极父亲的重要性，特别是说，对黑人来说，“没有父亲的家庭是一个非常非常大的问题”。然而，尚不清楚沃克在他10岁儿子的生活中扮演了什么角色。

他与第一任妻子还有一个大儿子克里斯蒂安。

ABC新闻获得的一份法庭命令显示，在男孩的母亲于2013年4月提交亲子鉴定申请后，沃克于2013年承认是小男孩的父亲。

在周三的一份声明中，沃克的竞选经理斯科特·帕拉迪斯反驳了男孩被藏起来的说法。

“赫歇尔几年前有一个孩子，当时他还没有结婚。他一直支持这个孩子，并将继续这样做。他为自己的孩子感到骄傲，”天堂说。“暗示赫歇尔‘隐藏’这个孩子是因为他没有在政治竞选中利用他，这是无礼和荒谬的。”

天堂指的是民主党参议员拉斐尔·沃诺克(Raphael Warnock)与前妻就孩子监护权安排的法庭斗争。(沃克希望在11月让沃诺克下台。)

沃诺克的一位女发言人梅雷迪思·布拉舍告诉美国广播公司新闻，他是一位“忠诚的父亲，在为格鲁吉亚人民工作时，他为继续共同抚养他的两个孩子感到自豪。”

沃克是佐治亚州的一名商人和大学橄榄球传奇人物，他在5月份的州初选中轻松赢得了共和党提名。此前曾面临审查关于他的私生活。这包括暴力行为的指控和他的诊断患有分离性身份障碍这是一种复杂的精神健康状况，以一些严重的潜在衰弱症状为特征。

沃克否认了过去的一些家庭暴力、身体威胁和跟踪的指控;其他的他声称不记得了。

他的竞选团队此前向ABC新闻提到了他2008年的回忆录，其中详细介绍了他的D.I.D .诊断，以及他在2008年接受ABC新闻采访时讨论了这对他第一次婚姻的影响。

Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker acknowledges 2nd son, insists he wasn't 'hiding' him

Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker on Wednesday acknowledged he has a 10-year-old boy, about whom he hasn't spoken publicly.

The revelation that Walker has a younger son wasfirst reported Tuesday by The Daily Beastand confirmed by Walker's campaign.

The issue of Walker's involvement as a parent has brought renewed focus to the fact that Walker has repeatedly talked about the importance of being an active father and, in particular, has said, "the fatherless home is a major, major problem" for Black people. It is, however, unclear what role Walker has played in the life of his 10-year-old son.

He also has an older son, Christian, with his first wife.

A court order obtained by ABC News shows Walker admitted in 2013 to being the younger boy's father after the boy's mother filed a paternity petition that April.

In a statement on Wednesday, Walker's campaign manager, Scott Paradise, pushed back on the idea that the boy was being hidden.

"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," Paradise said. "To suggest that Herschel is 'hiding' the child because he hasn't used him in his political campaign is offensive and absurd."

Paradise pointed to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock's court fight with his ex-wife over their child custody arrangement. (Walker hopes to unseat Warnock in November.)

A spokeswoman for Warnock, Meredith Brasher, told ABC News he is a "devoted father who is proud to continue to co-parent his two children as he works for the people of Georgia."

Walker, a businessman and college football legend in Georgia who easily won the Republican nomination in the state's primary in May,has previously faced scrutinyabout his personal life. That includes allegations of violent behavior and his diagnosiswith dissociative identity disorder, or D.I.D., a complex mental health condition characterized by some severe and potentially debilitating symptoms.

Walker has denied some of the past allegations of domestic violence, physical threats and stalking; others he claimed not to remember.

His campaign previously referred ABC News to his 2008 memoir, which detailed his D.I.D. diagnosis, and a 2008 interview he did with ABC News in which he discussed its effects on his first marriage.