ESPN will not be airing the Colin Kaepernick documentary after all.
Due to creative differences between the network, director Spike Lee, and the former NFL player, ESPN will no longer air the docuseries.
“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 Variety. “Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film.”
The news was first reported by Reuters after Lee told the outlet on Friday that the documentary was not going to be released.
“It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say,” Lee revealed at a red carpet event in Beverly Hills last week. When asked to elaborate, the director said, “I can’t. I signed a nondisclosure. I can’t talk about it.”
A source close to the project tells Variety that the decision not to move forward was made last summer, emphasizing that it had nothing to do with the NFL, which became a part owner of ESPN earlier this month. The Walt Disney Company currently owns 80% of the sports broadcasting giant.
The now-canceled project was first announced in 2020 under Kaepernick’s first-look deal with Disney through his Ra Vision Media production company. In 2022, Lee got onboard with the docuseries, which promised “extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective.”
Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 until 2016. In protest of police brutality and systemic racism, he began kneeling during the national anthem, igniting a firestorm of conversation surrounding the decision. In 2017, Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers and was not signed by another NFL team.
He has since filed a grievance against the league, alleging collusion among team owners, which was privately settled in 2019. Kaepernick has voiced his desire to continue playing in the league many times over the years, though he’s never been signed by a team. In the years following his retirement from professional football, he pivoted to activism through his nonprofit Know Your Rights Camp. In 2021, he co-created and narrated the limited series Colin in Black and White, directed by Ava DuVernay.
It’s unclear whether or not the documentary will find a home elsewhere. Back in September, Puck News reported the project faced delays amid disagreements between Kaepernick and Lee, and that ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro was open to allowing the filmmakers to shop it elsewhere.
