Da Saga of Colin Kaepernick, Spike Lee’s documentary about former NFL star-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick, could potentially be on the lookout for a new home instead of ESPN.
According to Puck, ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro wants to air what they call “a pricey seven-episode docuseries,” but he wants to wait for at least another year, putting “docs on Brittney Griner and the New York Jets’ ‘Sack Exchange’ defense of the 1980s” above the Kaepernick doc on ESPN’s airing slate. But according to Puck’s sources, Pitaro allegedly said that if Kaepernick, Lee and producer (and former ESPN anchor) Jemele Hill want the doc to air sooner, they can try to place the doc elsewhere.
This news comes after the documentary’s already-beleaguered creation process. Puck writes that the film has been delayed multiple times due to Lee’s directing schedule and “heated disagreements between Kaepernick and the Oscar-winning filmmaker over the direction of the project.”
Some of those disagreements include Lee wanting to expand the scope of the documentary beyond Kaepernick’s issues with the NFL by including “incendiary critiques of conservative politicians” including Donald Trump, who famously chastised NFL players for taking a knee in protest of racial injustice.
Kaepernick, on the other hand, wants the documentary to be more about his personal story, evidenced by how he has approval rights over the film and the right to ask for other elements to be added after the final cut.