Colin Kaepernick sat courtside with famed filmmaker Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night during the Memphis Grizzlies-New York Knicks game. Midway through the contest, ESPN announced that Spike Lee has started production on a multi-part documentary on Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback who has become a social activist since his last NFL snap on New Year’s Day 2017.
“Kaepernick, who has never given a full, first-person account of his journey, is collaborating closely with Lee who plans to use extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective,” reads the statement from ESPN.
Many feel that the 34-year-old Kaepernick has been black-balled from the NFL after he protested racial inequity by taking a knee during the national anthem. Despite being an elite athlete and rare dual-threat quarterback, Kaepernick hasn’t found work since he opted out his contract in 2017, as incoming general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan told him he’d be released.
Now the 49ers are grooming a 21-year-old dual-threat quarterback in Trey Lance, who is expected to succeed the outgoing Jimmy Garoppolo next season.
ESPN’s announcement comes against the backdrop of the Brian Flores lawsuit, as the recently-fired Miami Dolphins coach alleges the NFL is rife with systemic racism that has hindered his ability to pursue and maintain jobs within the league.
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