Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat courtside with Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee during ESPN’s broadcast of the Memphis Grizzlies game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden Wednesday evening.
ESPN made sure to note the pairing during its broadcast of the game. With Kaepernick sporting a “I Know My Rights” mask, the four-letter network zoomed in on the Super Bowl signal caller.
We now know why.
The network announced later on Wednesday that ESPN Films will produce a multi-part documentary series on Colin Kaepernick with Mr. Lee himself on board to direct.
“The documentary will be executive produced by ESPN Films and produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Kaepernick is partnering with former ESPN television personality Jemele Hill, who is also a producer on the project,” ESPN announced, via its official website.
Per the press release, said doc will give the first ever first-person account of Kaepernick’s journey from small-school quarterback to the face of NFL national anthem protests around the league.
Related: Colin Kaepernick still aiming for an NFL comeback
Timing of ESPN’s Colin Kaepernick announcement is interesting
This announcement comes one day after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and its teams — claiming systemic racism within the hiring process of head coaches and general managers.
Flores claims that he was given an interview with the New York Giants solely to meet the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirements.
The suit alleges that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick texted Flores and indicated Brian Daboll had already been hired for the job despite Flores’ interview still being three days away.
The text of the suit, filed in the United States District Court of Southern New York, mentions Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protests from back in 2016 and the allegations that the NFL and its teams conspired to keep the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback out of the league. Kaepernick has not suited up since December of 2016.
This certainly makes the timing of ESPN’s announcement rather interesting. Not only is the NFL now embroiled in another controversy in an era that has been defined by them under Commissioner Roger Goodell, there’s now evidence that the United States Government might get involved.
Related: Jerry Jones talks Brian Flores lawsuit
“Incredibly, there has never been a Black owner of an NFL team. I am afraid that this lack of diversity is not a coincidence or a mere accident, but more systemic in nature.
Simply put, this is bold-faced racism. Coach Flores is risking his career to raise allegations of racism against the NFL, as did Colin Kaepernick when he protested police violence against Black men and boys. The firing of David Culley and Brian Flores are not unique. These are allegations that surface time and time again.”
U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) in calling for investigation into systemic racism in the NFL (Feb. 2, 2022)
As the Flores’ lawsuit grows in nature and with the NFL under a microscope once again, Colin Kaepernick will find himself on the front burner of conversations around the gridiron world.
There’s every reason to believe that this yet-to-be released documentary will add to the dynamics more than five years since Kaepernick last suited up in an NFL game and a couple years removed from the former quarterback settling his collusion case against the league for an unknown amount of money.