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Da Saga of Spike Lee, Colin Kaepernick & ESPN

A pricey seven-episode docuseries about Colin Kaepernick, produced by Spike Lee and Jemele Hill, won’t be released for at least another year—and ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro is open to the them shopping it elsewhere.

spike lee and colin kaepernick
ESPN, which commissioned the pricey project on the former NFL quarterback back in 2020, has endured multiple delays—Spike’s schedule, but also heated disagreements between Kaepernick and the Oscar-winning filmmaker over the direction of the project. Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
September 27, 2024

Who wants to buy a nearly finished Colin Kaepernick documentary series directed by Spike Lee? There could soon be an opportunity. ESPN, which commissioned the pricey project on the former NFL quarterback back in 2020, has endured multiple delays—Spike’s schedule, but also heated disagreements between Kaepernick and the Oscar-winning filmmaker over the direction of the project. Now, ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro is said to be committed to airing the seven-episode series, but not for at least another year, given what he’s telling the filmmakers are other ESPN Films projects on the slate, including docs on Brittney Griner and the New York Jets’ “Sack Exchange” defense of the 1980s. And if Lee, Kaepernick, and producer Jemele Hill want a quicker release, Pitaro will allow them to shop it elsewhere, according to two well-placed sources. (ESPN and reps for the filmmakers declined to comment.)