&34;We appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film,&34; the network said in a statement. ESPN won't air Spike Lee's Colin Kaepernick

"We appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film," the network said in a statement.

ESPN won't air Spike Lee's Colin Kaepernick docuseries due to 'creative differences'

"We appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film," the network said in a statement.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at*  *with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, *Teen Vogue*, Bustle, BuzzFeed, *Paper Magazine*, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.

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Published on August 18, 2025 04:48PM EDT

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Spike Lee poses at the opening night of the new play "Purpose" on Broadway at The Hayes Theater on March 17, 2025 in New York City; Colin Kaepernick attends the 2019 Met Gala celebrating "Camp: Notes on Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019 in New York City. Credit:

Bruce Glikas/Getty; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

ESPN has spiked Spike Lee's multi-part docuseries about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. **

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

The development comes after Lee recently told Reuters that the series was "not coming out" and that he was unable to share any additional information about its fate. "I signed a nondisclosure [agreement]," the filmmaker explained. "I can't talk about it."

Colin Kaepernick attends the Gordon Parks Foundation's Annual Awards Dinner and Auction Celebrating the Arts & Social Justice on May 21, 2024 in New York City.

Arturo Holmes/Getty

The series was first announced in 2020 as part of the Walt Disney Company's overall first-look deal with Kaepernick. Lee officially boarded the project in 2022, which would weave together never-before-seen footage from Kaepernick's archive to create a "full, first-person account" of his journey. **

"I'm grateful to be able to work with the legend Spike Lee on my docu-series," Kaepernick tweeted at the time. "It's time for the narrative to be corrected."

However, last September, Puck News reported that the series was experiencing delays due to alleged disagreements between Lee and Kaepernick over its direction. The outlet added at the time that ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro was also open to the idea of letting Lee and producer Jemele Hill shop the project elsewhere.

Whoopi Goldberg says Harrison Butker, Colin Kaepernick deserve respect for free speech

'Colin in Black & White' is challenging portrait of the athlete as a young man

Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 until 2016, when he sparked a global debate about the role of activism in professional sports by taking a knee during the national anthem in order to protest racial inequality and police brutality. He has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season. **

The following year, Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL, which was ultimately settled in 2019.

***Sign up for **'s free daily newsletter* *to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.*****

Outside of the documentary, Kaepernick's life has been detailed onscreen in the Netflix limited series, *Colin in Black and White*. He also teamed up with Eve L. Ewing to pen the 2023 graphic novel, *Change the Game*.

Speaking with EW about the book, Kaepernick said, "I was inspired to write *Change the Game *to help a younger generation navigate complex issues like racism, family dynamics, and finding their power when the spaces they're in are trying to strip it away from them."

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