TV: Racial bigotry laid bare in Netflix’s Colin in Black and White

In American football, teams are named after gold or oil prospectors, going down injured is a sign of weakness and the matches are peppered with enough breaks to sell you things; in many ways it’s a neat encapsulation of the country.

Colin Kaepernick agrees. He’s the reason, if you’re not familiar with the name, our own brand of footballers now take the knee before games.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback caused uproar in the USA by not standing up during the traditional pre-game national anthem.

This was to protest racial injustice but, given the jingoistic fervour of some in the United States, was the equivalent of a Scotland player gobbing in the face of one of the Proclaimers during a half-time performance of (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles.

Kaepernick’s story is told in docudrama Colin In Black And White. It serves as a biopic as well as infuriating Ted Talk as the man himself pops up to explain the statistics behind shocking racism in the USA.

Kaepernick also takes aim at the sport itself; the NFL draft, where teams’ white owners literally weigh, measure and purchase predominantly black players has uncomfortable echoes of slave auctions.

Perhaps it feels a little like homework but Colin In Black And White shows bigotry in the USA is alive and kicking, and not just in American football.

Colin In Black And White, Netflix