Kaepernick made prior statement with police-as-pigs socks

Colin Kaepernick on Sunday spoke out against what he described as “police brutality” while explaining his decision to remain seated for the national anthem.

But he also apparently made a divisive statement on Aug. 10 in San Francisco during an open practice at Kezar Stadium in front of thousands of fans.

Photos from Aug. 10 show Kaepernick was wearing socks with pigs dressed as police officers. Photos also show that Kaepernick wore the same socks for a joint practice with the Houston Texans on Aug. 12 and the following week in a practice with the Denver Broncos.

Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.

The 49ers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When asked Sunday if he was concerned his speaking out against the actions of some police officers could be seen as an indictment on all of law enforcement, Kaepernick did not back down.

“There is police brutality,” Kaepernick said. “People of color have been targeted by police. So that’s a large part of it and they’re government officials. They are put in place by the government. So that’s something that this country has to change.

“There are things we can do to hold them more accountable. Make those standards higher. You have people that practice law and are lawyers and go to school for eight years, but you can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. That’s insane. Someone that’s holding a curling iron has more education and more training than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us.”