Colin Kaepernick Wore Anti-Police Socks at San Francisco 49ers Practice

As the criticism of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick crests, it seems some have taken notice to another form of silent protest that he's displayed at team practices. 

Philip Lewis of Mic highlighted Kaepernick wearing socks that depict officers as pigs, a long-standing derogatory term for police:

Kaepernick explained why he wore the socks:

Much like his decision to not stand for the national anthem—which had been ongoing all preseason but not noticed until last week—many are seeing this long after the fact. There are numerous pictures of Kaepernick, including this from Courtney Cronin of the Mercury News, wearing these socks in early August:

Kaepernick has been at the top of the NFL news cycle after telling reporters he was refusing to stand for the national anthem as a response to police brutality and racism in the United States.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick said, per Steve Wyche of NFL.com. "To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

That stance has drawn polarized opinions, with some chastising him for disrespect and others championing him for bringing prejudice to the forefront. Earlier this week, #VeteransForKaepernick was a trending topic on Twitter.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.