Derek Jeter Talks 'The Captain' Documentary, Alex Rodriguez

The All-Star break is one of the quietest weeks of the year. The off-season for Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NFL begins next week. The time is right for a documentary about one of the most consequential sports icons of the last 25 years. After tonight's Home Run Derby, The Captain, a seven-part series, will debut on the network. He won four World Series in his first five seasons for a team that was based in the media capital of the word, but he was still seen as the leader of the group. Since his retirement from the Yankees, baseball has been looking for a successor.

There will be new episodes every week through August 11. Media were able to view the first five installments. The story is told from the viewpoint of the subject. The project is more than that. During his playing days, he wrestled with his racial identity, his fraught relationship with fellow superstar Alex Rodriguez, and even some of the tabloid gossip that came with it. On the eve of The Captain's debut, Jeter discussed these and other topics with Time.

The interview has been edited to make it clearer.

TIME: One revelation from this documentary: when you were a kid, you and your dad used to compete against each other while watching The Price Is Right. What pricing games were the focal point?

All of it would be done by us. I went to afternoon kindergarten after. We would watch The Price is Right while we sat down. My dad would like to beat me at the game. I told the doctor that it could be child abuse.

I have three girls and I understand it now. Life isn't easy and you have to teach them. No one is going to give you anything.

So did that instill a little bit of early competitiveness in you?

There's no question. We competed at everything. There are checkers and tic-tac toes. I beat him one-on-one on the basketball court. This sense of accomplishment is what makes it so.

How did this documentary come about? Why now?

When I was told to expect a call to the Hall of Fame, it came to be. I asked if I could film it. My girls have never seen me play before, so I wanted the footage for myself. It turned into a more in depth discussion. This is our current location.

What did that experience ignite, where you wanted to take things further?

I wasn't sure if I would do it. I began to think that I never had a chance to reflect on my accomplishments during my career. It was always about what to do next. It is the first time I have had a chance to reflect on my career after being called to the Hall of Fame. So I told him to do it now if he was going to do it. I dived right in.

There are some parallels here to The Last Dance. Mandalay Sports Media is a producer on both films, and Michael Jordan even appears in your documentary. Did the success of The Last Dance help propel it forward or change anything about it?

I don't believe it. The Last Dance was watched by a billion people. When sports were shut down, it aired. You don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it. A lot of people are making documentary films. I like to learn about people in different professions and their journeys.

Your agent, Casey Close, and your media platform, The Players’ Tribune, were producers for the film. How involved were you in the process? Did you have last say as to what went into the documentary?

I was a part of it. I wouldn't say I have the final word. If I am going to give my perspective in any particular situation, I want to hear from anyone that was involved in that situation as well. I wanted it to be more than one-sided. I would like it to be true.

The film explores your background growing up biracial in Kalamazoo, Mich. You were called the N-word as a kid. How does something like that affect you?

A small amount of reality. There will always be ignorant people even if you think you have a lot of success. You have had any level of success, so it isn't just erased.

You also stalked about how you and your family were always being stared at. How did that affect you?

I was always looking at something. When we met, my wife told me that I was always looking around. When you were a child, you wanted to see who was staring. People might be looking for other reasons if you have more success in your career. Awareness is what it is. You couldn't escape it.

In one of the episodes, sports journalist Wallace Matthews says to the camera: “Derek Jeter does not identify racially … He just seemed to be racially neutral. Derek Jeter was almost colorless, not only physically, but also in the way he spoke.” In the documentary, that comment seemed to bother you. Why?

It says something for itself. When you don't ask the question about how I identify, you can't say anything. There was a real and genuine reaction to something that caught me by surprise.

So many athletes talk about and are engaged with social issues today. You were not known for that. Was it because you were not asked these kinds of questions? Or was it more because you were concerned about taking attention away from baseball, and the job at hand?

The focus was more on the field when I was a player. I was supposed to do that. Athletes nowadays are more comfortable speaking out on their own. Their own platforms allow them to do it. It's good that you don't have to be asked about it. I didn't hear about it when I was playing. You can speak up in many different ways. I have had a foundation for over two decades that has dealt with social issues throughout my career. It was still being addressed.

If you were still playing in 2016, when Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, and someone asked you for your reaction, what would you have said?

It's not about kneeling for the anthem. He was kneeling for something. I don't believe it was against America. He is standing up for something that is important to him. The same thing happened when I was in Miami. There isn't anything wrong with those. It makes you have uneasy conversations. You have to have those conversations in order to have any change. There needs to be a beginning.

Another major theme of the documentary is your relationship with Alex Rodriguez. The two of you were close when you were younger, but the relationship changed after he made unflattering comments about you in Esquire magazine back in the early 2000s. In the documentary, you talk about your ability to cut people off. You say you’re not proud of it. Where did that ability come from?

I'm not sure. It's how I see it. I think you have a group of friends. I have had that group for a long time. I'm very loyal. I don't know if it's a good thing, but it's gotten me to where I am

In the film, Alex says he stands by his comments. He said they were “totally fair.” Did that bother you?

Alex has no problems with me. There wasn't anything else. We've had discussions. The future is the present. It's done and dusted. This was a long time ago. Over time, people change. Life experiences are what you have. I don't have a problem with Alex.

Should Alex be in the Hall of Fame?

I don't like voting. I don't vote so I don't know if it's true.

You also address the 2011 New York Post story that said you left gift baskets for women after one-night stands. You deny that ever happened. When you read that story at the time, what was your reaction?

People make things up a lot. The story took on a life of it's own. People are talking about it today. I was asked about it. How do you come up with something?

Is it good that you get to clear the air on some of this stuff in a documentary like this?

I wouldn't say it's clearing the air. I didn't say I wanted to clear the air on the issue. A lot of things happened over the course of two decades. It was a question that was asked. I promised to be honest when I said I was going to do it. Don't hesitate to ask.

Turning to some stuff around baseball … Jeter Downs, the Boston Red Sox rookie named after you, hit his first career home run in Yankee Stadium today [Sunday, July 17]. You’ve wished him good luck on Twitter … “unless you are playing the Yankees.” Are you happy to see him hit a home run?

Which one won?

The Yankees won, 13-2.

There you have it. It's good for him.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has talked about installing robo-umps in Major League Baseball by 2024. Are you in favor?

If they get it right, that's all. I don't see why you wouldn't use the technology to get it right.

If you were made commissioner of baseball tomorrow, what would you try to change right away?

I don't like working shifts. I don't think it's right. You see a hard hit ball to the right side or the left side, you think it's a hit, but you see another infielder make a play, so you would have more action in the game if that was gone.

Before this season you left your job as CEO of the Miami Marlins, saying in a statement that “the vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead.” What was different?

You won't be able to watch the rest of the documentary.

So the last two episodes deal with that?

It's possible, maybe. You are going to have to watch it.

You have a new sportswear brand out, called Greatness Wins. Wayne Gretzky and Misty Copeland are also involved. How did this come about?

Chris spoke to me. Untuckit was begun by him. He wanted to start an athletic brand that focused on quality and fit, performance and consistency. We had a lot of conversations about it. I wanted to make sure that Chris understood that when you talk about greatness or achieving greatness, it's not just a goal, it's also a way of life. I think it's a mindset. The brand is based on that. I have learned a lot about fit and performance throughout my career. There are things that you like. There are things that you might do differently.

What do you hope people take away from the documentary?

The way I handled myself in New York was designed. There was no plan to succeed. I enjoy playing in New York. It is the best place to play and the best organization with the best fans. I handled it the same way I dealt with it when I was there. I can give you my perspective on when I was going through it and how I think about it today.

You’re pretty honest about how, in your dealings with the press, you tried to keep things simple and not create any controversies and distractions. Tom Brady recently talked about this, about how “90% of what I say is not what I’m thinking.” As you say, it was all be design. But the public never got to know the “real Derek.” Do you have any regrets about your approach?

It is not possible to say yes. It works. I lived in New York for two decades. I'm very happy with how my career went.

Sean Gregory is a writer for Time.