Kaepernick, 34, played parts of six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers through 2016. However, he is most notably known for his activism on and off the field, including kneeling on the sidelines during the singing of the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality, a controversial action that some, including Kaepernick, believe led to him being blacklisted from the NFL.
Kaepernick’s protest inspired numerous other NFL players and athletes in other leagues to take similar stances in 2017. The movement came to a head on September 24 of that year with a full Sunday slate of NFL games that saw over 200 players either kneel in protest or sit out of the game.
Following his final season with the 49ers, Kaepernick became a free agent. However, he was not signed or picked up by any other teams and has not played NFL football since then. At the time, many NFL analysts noted that Kaepernick’s inability to find another team was likely due to backlash from his protesting. This is despite many NFL coaches reportedly still considering him a starting quarterback in the league behind closed doors.
Kaepernick himself filed a lawsuit against the NFL, arguing that team owners were “colluding” to keep him from signing with another team due to his outspoken nature. He eventually settled this lawsuit in 2019 with the league for an undisclosed amount.
“It’s time for the narrative to be corrected,” Kaepernick said in his tweet.
In the past, Kaepernick has given only limited interviews on his civil rights activism. ESPN noted in a press release announcing the project that he has “never given a full, first-person account of his journey.”
Spike Lee is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker known for directing movies that explore complex racial and social issues and has helmed widely acclaimed films like Malcolm X and BlackKkKlansman.
ESPN stated that Lee “plans to use extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective.”
While principal production has begun, it is unclear how many parts the docuseries will entail, or how long each episode will be. A release date for the feature has not yet been announced.
In addition to Lee, sports journalist Jamele Hill is also a producer on the docuseries. Hill is a former ESPN television commentator and currently serves as a staff writer at The Atlantic.
Lee was asked by Newsweek how he plans to help Kaepernick tell his story through the docuseries. He replied, through his publicist, with a single word: “Skillfully.”
Newsweek has also reached out to Colin Kaepernick’s agent for comment.
