Spike Lee, one of the world’s most renowned storytellers, now has his sights set on making a documentary about Colin Kaepernick.
As part of his appearance at the second Annual Academy Museum Gala, held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Saturday (Oct. 15), Lee gave an update to “Entertainment Tonight” on his docuseries on the former NFL player. “I’m working on my multi-series documentary on Colin Kaepernick for ESPN,” Lee said. “It’s his story, not the false narratives.”
Although Kaepernick is still trying to get another job in the NFL, finding a team that works for him has been a struggle, it’s a sad reality that will be explained in Lee’s documentary. “Six years, the National Football League has stopped him from playing,” Lee explained. “He still gets up at 4 or 4:30 every morning to train, five to six days a week. So when that next phone call comes, he’ll be ready. He’ll be ready.” Regarding the project’s release date, he said, “Well, it’ll probably be out before he plays [again].”
During an October 2021 interview with Ebony, it was revealed that the 34-year-old footballer was prepared to return to work. “I am still up at 5 a.m. training five [and] six days a week, making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again. That’s not something I will ever let go of, regardless of the actions of 32 teams and their partners to deny me employment,” the former player said. “The same way I was persistent in high school is the same way I’m gonna be persistent here.”
Kaepernick explained that he continues to train so that the organization can’t use an excuse to prevent him from making a comeback. “You’re gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way. And you’re gonna expose yourself by that, but it won’t be because I’m not ready or not prepared. But in that process, I’m also not gonna let you bury my future,” he explained. “I’m gonna continue to do work on the acting and producing side, continue to do the work with Know Your Rights, and make sure we are having an impact. I think that’s the beauty of us collectively — we are not one-dimensional.”