Spike Lee's Colin Kaepernick Docuseries Canceled at ESPN

Spike Lee is riding high on the success of Highest 2 Lowest, but another project he was set to helm has been officially shut down. The director was involved in an ESPN docuseries that documented Colin Kaepernick’s life from being an adopted Black kid in a white family to his controversial NFL blackballing. But now it’s pretty much been given the axe. Reuters first reported it over the weekend with an official statement from ESPN about the project.  “ESPN, Colin Kaepernick, and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences,” ESPN told the outlet. “Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film.”

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The abrupt cancellation was surprising, so on the red carpet ahead of the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation dinner, Lee was asked about it, but his curt answer only left us feeling more confused. “It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say,” Lee says when he’s peppered with questions about it. “I can’t. I signed a nondisclosure. I can’t talk about it.” Now there’s no doubt that Kap getting allegedly blackballed by the NFL is a smudge on the league’s reputation, and the series might not have been its best PR moment. Following the deal made earlier this month where ESPN purchased a 10% stake in the NFL — reportedly valued north of  $2 billion— it may seem like ESPN doesn’t want to devalue its newest asset, but that’s unrelated. “According to a source close to the project, the decision not to move forward was made last summer and had nothing to do with the NFL,” writes Variety. The project was first announced in 2020 as part of a broader first-look deal between ESPN’s parent company, The Walt Disney Company, and Kaepernick’s Ra Vision Media. Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 until 2016 and led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, but ultimately lost to the Baltimore Ravens. The following season, he led the team to the NFC championship, but his success ended there. Three playoff-missing seasons followed, and he began kneeling during the National Anthem as a civil rights protest, once saying, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color.” He was released at the end of that season and filed a grievance against the NFL, accusing league owners of collusion to keep him out of the league. He eventually settled with the NFL, reaching a confidential settlement in February 2019. See social media’s reaction the project currently being dead in the water below.

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