Colin Kaepernick's Jersey To Be Displayed At The Museum Of Modern Art

Colin Kaepernick's old San Francisco 49ers jersey will soon be on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

A part of an exhibition titled "Items: Is Fashion Modern?" the jersey appears in a section dedicated to sport's influence on fashion, which also includes a jersey from basketball athlete and icon Michael Jordan, a Brazilian national team jersey from soccer star Pelé, and a shirt from New Zealand rugby team Black Ferns.

The idea to put Kaepernick's jersey in the exhibition arose after the jersey became the surprise top selling item of all players in the league (and most recently was the most sold jersey from the 49ers even though Kaepernick is no longer on the team).

"When the whole Kaepernick thing happened last year, it was noted by the NFL that his jersey was outpacing the sales of [New England Patriots quarterback] Tom Brady's jersey," Stephanie Kramer, a research assistant at the museum and the fashion expert on the curatorial team behind the exhibit, said to Quartz. "To us, that seemed to us to indicate a sea change in what the jersey represents for people. Not necessarily your hero, good-looking quarterback, but perhaps somebody who was using his sports prowess and celebrity to say something socially and politically. We thought that made a really important statement about what the sports jersey could mean to its wearer."

Although Kaepernick continues to be a free agent, his take a knee protest lives on with NFL players and artists alike taking a knee to protest police brutality and institutionalized racism in the United States.

"Items: Is Fashion Modern?" will be on display from October 1 through January 2018.