ESPN Shelves Spike Lee's Colin Kaepernick Documentary
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ESPN has canceled Spike Lee's multi-part documentary series about Colin Kaepernick, citing "creative differences" between the network, director, and subject. The project, titled "Da Saga of Colin Kaepernick," began in 2022 and was completed by Lee in late 2023, but disagreements between Kaepernick and Lee over the direction of the project emerged as early as September 2024. Lee confirmed the cancellation but remains bound by a non-disclosure agreement, stating only, "It's not coming out. That's all I can say."
The cancellation represents another chapter in the ongoing complexity of telling Kaepernick's story nearly nine years after his kneeling protest transformed American sports and sparked a national conversation about racial justice. Kaepernick's 2016 protests inspired a generation of athlete activism and mobilized political engagement within Black communities, yet his narrative remains challenging to capture in mainstream media.
Production began in 2022 with ESPN promoting it as a "full, first-person account" of Kaepernick's journey that would feature extensive interviews with the player. The collaboration between two prominent Black cultural figures—Lee, the acclaimed filmmaker behind "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X," and Kaepernick, whose protest fundamentally changed sports activism—seemed natural. However, the documentary faced delays over disagreements between Lee and Kaepernick regarding the film's direction.
Research shows Kaepernick was "a powerful mobilizing force" who directly inspired nearly one-third of Black people polled to donate to political causes, attend protests, or boycott the NFL, with more than half saying he inspired them to vote.
