The San Francisco 49ers have just revealed the first alternative jersey in franchise history, which looks suspiciously like what quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been wearing to practice for the past two seasons.
The #49ers alternate jersey, player-driven, I hear, is the same as Kaepernick's practice jersey past couple seasons. pic.twitter.com/68BOLl4DpV
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) April 30, 2015
Reportedly, there have been players advocating for a change to black, and they certainly got what they desired. The jersey is all black with red numbering and comes with black pants to boot.
The jersey made its debut to the team on Thursday, during the final day of the 49ers’ voluntary minicamp. When Kaepernick was questioned about wearing a jersey different from his teammates in practice two years ago, he was not happy about it, stating this:
Not a fan of the jersey.
The ambiguous answer leaves us unclear as to whether Kaepernick disliked the jersey or the fact that he was singled out. The reason Kap has been wearing the black jersey is because former head coach Jim Harbaugh wanted to be sure he stood out to the defensive players as a reminder to keep their hands off of him during practice.
These were Harbaugh’s exact words regarding his reasoning:
And (I) felt like as the defense was running a stunt, and Ahmad came free and was a little too close to Colin. So (the jersey is) a way to re-emphasize to stay away from Colin Kaepernick, so we don’t get anything freakish happen in practice.
We will now see the entire 49ers team suit up like Kap has in practice for two regular season games this upcoming season. That is when the fashion police will come into action, as the all-black look will certainly create some public commentary.