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Feb 14, 2025

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Kaepernick Socks Showing Cartoon
Pigs In Police Hats

Statement of NJ State PBA President Patrick Colligan On Colin Kaepernick Wearing Socks Depicting Cartoon Pigs In Police Hats

As the President of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, I recognize that things I say can be easily ascribed to the entirety of our 33,000 members.  As such, I have refrained from commenting on Colin Kaepernick’s decision to refuse to stand for the singing of the Star Spangled Banner because my opinion in this matter is my own.  To be clear, his decision is not something I condone, nor is it something I respect.

With that said, the now viral picture of Mr. Kaepernick wearing socks depicting cartoon pigs in police hats has crossed an entirely different line.  Mr. Kaepernick has clearly decided that it is completely acceptable to disparage an entire profession filled with good men and women dedicating their lives to protecting neighborhoods throughout New Jersey and across the country.  The hypocrisy at play here is staggering in that Mr. Kaepernick would broadly generalize and attack an entire profession using an ages old point of derision while claiming to stand against those who would engage in stereotyping and discriminatory practices.

The fact is that Mr. Kaepernick’s decision to demean all those that put on a police uniform is completely disrespectful and his effort to now clarify the use of this imagery as somehow excusable because he has “two uncles and friends who are police officers” is simply another slap in the face.  Excusing bad behavior through claims of familiarity cannot and should not ever be accepted and, if what he says is true, then those uncles and those friends should be first in line for an apology.  Mr. Kaepernick’s San Francisco 49ers uniform does not make him any better than the men and women who put on their blue uniforms every day, it just gives him a spotlight in which to air his views.  It’s too bad he has decided to use that spotlight to cast aspersions on an entire group of people.

NJ State PBA President
Patrick 
Colligan