ESPN CANCELS SPIKE LEE'S COLIN KAEPERNICK DOCUSERIES, HERE'S WHY

Published Aug 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM EDT

Kaepernick was never a strong advocate for his cause

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - This weekend ESPN Films announced that it would not be moving forward with director Spike Lee's 8-part documentary series about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

In a statement to Reuters on Saturday, the sports network said "ESPN, Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences. Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film."

Lee told Reuters on Friday, "It's not coming out. That's all I can say." When asked to give a reason why the film would not be released, the director said,

"I can't. I signed a nondisclosure. I can't talk about it."

Colin Kaepernick sparked controversy when he took a knee during the national anthem on September 1, 2016, during the San Francisco 49ers' third preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. The gesture evolved into a national debate about police brutality, but many questioned if the quarterback was serious because of his refusal to speak to the media.

There was also speculation that Kaepernick was more upset with his team than police.

In a Week 13 game against the Chicago Bears, the San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly benched Kaepernick in the fourth quarter, replacing him with Blaine Gabbert. This decision came after Kaepernick had a poor performance, completing only one pass for four yards in a game where the 49ers were trailing 24-6 at the time of the substitution.

Kaepernick was never a strong advocate for his cause, as evidenced by his somewhat comical 2021 Netflix documentary Colin in Black and White, and he lost all credibility when he begged to get back into the NFL after suing the league for collusion and winning.

Those factors, plus Trump's election and ESPN's incestuous relationship with the NFL, were most likely the reasons for the "creative differences" that killed Lee's proposed docuseries.