Ole Miss football player DeSanto Rollins is suing Head Coach Lane Kiffin and the University of Mississippi, citing negligence, racial discrimination and sexual discrimination. The suit was filed on Sept. 14 in the Oxford Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. He is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages from Kiffin, defendants and the university and $30 million in punitive damages from Kiffin alone.
According to the lawsuit, Rollins is alleging that he was subject to a hostile educational environment for requesting and taking a mental health break, which culminated in Rollins being kicked off the team after missing consecutive practices amid a battle with his mental health.
Rollins, formerly a backup defensive lineman, has suffered many injuries throughout his career. After injuring his Achilles tendon in the summer of 2022, he claims to have “suffered severe depression, anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, humiliation, a loss of sleep and loss of appetite” as a result of his accumulated injuries.
In August of that same year, he aggravated an LCL injury in his knee, which Rollins claims exacerbated his depression.
After a February 2023 meeting with Kiffin, Rollins alleges that he was demoted from defensive tackle to offensive tackle on the scout team.
Rollins questioned whether this move was “a choice or a command.”
According to the lawsuit, Kiffin replied, “If you don’t like it, then you can quit.” After this, Rollins told Kiffin that he would be taking a mental health break. Rollins frequently met with the university’s Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Psychology Josie Nicholson during his break, who Rollins alleges encouraged him to talk to UM Athletic Trainer Pat Jernigan about stepping back from football to take care of his mental health.
Rollins is also requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions reinstating him to the UM football team on the defensive line.
On March 7, Nicholson informed Rollins that Kiffin wanted to meet with him again, but Rollins voiced that he was not yet ready to meet with him.
The meeting eventually happened on March 21, and Rollins recorded the conversation without Kiffin’s knowledge. A copy of the transcript has been included in the lawsuit.
The transcript allegedly shows Kiffin telling Rollins, “We can kick you off the team for not showing up” and repeatedly using expletives.
According to the lawsuit, Rollins is suing on the grounds that the defendants violated Title IX and Title VI, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and four other state and federal laws.
The lawsuit argues that the university allowed athletes who were white women to take time off and receive mental health support, while Rollins alleges that he did not receive the same treatment. As a black male, he believes that action was not taken due to his race.
The plaintiff states that a tort claims demand letter was sent to the defendants in May 2023. In June of this year, news broke that Ole Miss Football was the first college program to become completely mental health certified.
Kiffin has declined to comment on the matter after the Georgia Tech game last weekend.
Rollins is set to graduate in December with a degree in business. He has only played in three games coming into the 2023 season and has yet to appear this season.
In a statement to ESPN, Rollins said, “I love Ole Miss, but they do not love me.”
