Spike Lee’s highly anticipated multi-part documentary series on former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick won’t appear on ESPN, both the network and the director confirmed this week.
The film, originally announced in 2022 as part of ESPN Films, was pitched as a “full, first-person account” of Kaepernick’s story, with extensive interviews with the activist athlete who ignited a national debate almost a decade ago when he knelt during the U.S. national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
But on Friday at the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation dinner in Beverly Hills, Lee told Reuters the series had been cancelled. “It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say,” the Oscar-winning director replied. Asked to elaborate, Lee referred to a nondisclosure agreement: “I can’t. I signed a nondisclosure. I can’t talk about it.”
In a Saturday statement, ESPN confirmed the decision, citing “creative differences” between the partners. “ESPN, Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee have together decided not to move forward with this project due to certain creative differences,” the network stated. “Although we didn’t reach completion, we commend all the rigorous work and effort that went into this film.”
A Project Marked by Delays
Production started in 2022 to much excitement. Kaepernick himself advertised the partnership on social media at the time, referring to it as “time for the narrative to be corrected.” Former ESPN journalist Jemele Hill was also co-producing the series and has been vocal in her criticism of the NFL, earlier having run afoul of the network after making incendiary remarks about Donald Trump back in 2017.
Later reports indicated the project was delayed due to tensions between Kaepernick and Lee over the direction of the film. Though details are being kept hidden, those tensions seem to have been central to the ultimate decision to cancel the series.
Kaepernick’s Enduring Legacy
Kaepernick, who is currently 37, has not participated in the NFL since 2016. Most experts view his taking a knee during the anthem – which drew ire from league bosses and then-President Donald Trump – as having largely finished off his football career. He went on to file a collusion grievance against the NFL, settling that case in 2019.
The cancellation of Lee’s series occurs during a larger political environment in which diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have become flashpoints, and media businesses are under heightened scrutiny for reporting on race and politics.
For the time being, Kaepernick’s narrative is still incomplete in documentary style. Although ESPN pulled out, it is not certain if the project would be revived elsewhere.
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