Director Spike Lee’s multi-part documentary series for ESPN Films about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested racial injustice nearly a decade ago, will not be released, the filmmaker and ESPN said.
“ESPN, Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences,” ESPN said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday.
“Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film.”
Originally greenlit in 2020, the first-person-told documentary explored Kaepernick’s journey on-and-off the field. In 2022, Lee boarded the docuseries, which promised “extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective.”
“I’m grateful to be able to work with the legend Spike Lee on my docu-series,” Kaepernick tweeted at the time. “It’s time for the narrative to be corrected.”
However, last September, Puck News reported that the series was experiencing delays due to alleged disagreements between Lee and Kaepernick over its direction
“It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say,” Lee said on the red carpet ahead of the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation dinner, a fundraiser for cancer research and treatment, in Beverly Hills, California. “I signed a nondisclosure [agreement],” the filmmaker explained. “I can’t talk about it.”
Colin Kaepernick’s Impact
Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 until 2016, when he ignited a media firestorm after he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic racism.
His likeness became a global symbol of resistance and non-violent protest against police brutality against people of color.
“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 told NFL Network reporter Steve Wyche after the game on August 26, 2016. “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.”