Per multiple reports, Spike Lee, Colin Kaepernick, and ESPN decided not to proceed with a multi-part documentary series about the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s life. “Creative difference” was the public reason for the project’s failure.
However, that vague reasoning has others asking if the NFL played a larger role in the creative split. The decision came at a time when the league and ESPN are set to merge, with the network taking over the NFL Network and other league media assets. In exchange, the league is set to have a 10% stake in ESPN.
Did Donald Trump’s history with Colin Kaepernick play a role?
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick watches game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick watches game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Tom Jones of Poynter is curious about the timing of the cancellation of Kaepernick’s series and wonders if the administration of Donald Trump played a role in ESPN having a creative difference that Lee might have wanted to explore, as the administration could nix the merger if they didn’t like the material in the series.
“In addition, it cannot be ignored that the deal between the NFL and ESPN will ultimately need regulatory approval from the Trump administration,” Jones wrote. “And Trump, one would also guess, would come up prominently in a documentary discussing Kaepernick and racial protests.
“Back in 2017, when protests were in the news, Trump, who was president at the time, said, ‘Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a (expletive) off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’ … Who knows if any of this played a role in ESPN walking away from this project?”
Trump already won a successful settlement with ABC, owned by the same network as ESPN. ABC had to pay $15 million to Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit involving George Stephanopoulos.
Maybe it’s better business for the media not to unfavorably cover Trump at all.
Former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick gets inducted into the Nevada Sports Hall of Fame during halftime of the game against Idaho State at Mackay Stadium in Reno on Sept. 11 Caitlin Clark
Colin Kaepernick gets inducted into the Nevada Sports Hall of Fame during halftime of the game against Idaho State at Mackay Stadium in Reno on Sept. 11, 2021.
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