A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit an Ole Miss football player brought against head coach Lane Kiffin.
First reported by the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills on Wednesday dismissed the litigation filed by Rebels defensive lineman DeSanto Rollins accusing Kiffin of racial and sexual discrimination.
Rollins, who did not play at all in Ole Miss’ historic 2023 season, claimed he was suffering from mental health issues and was not provided the proper care by the university before Kiffin kicked him off the team. Ole Miss officials quickly rebutted the player’s claims, stating that he had not been kicked off the team and was still listed on the active roster.
The player was seeking a total of $40 million in compensatory and punitive damages, alleging Kiffin took adverse action against the Louisiana native “on account of race for requesting and taking a mental health break, but not taking adverse action against white student-athletes.”
He also alleged sexual discrimination on the basis that Ole Miss has not taken “adverse action against female student-athletes for requestion and taking a mental health break.”
According to filings in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Rollins suffered multiple injuries, including a concussion in the spring of 2022 and an injury to his Achilles tendon that July. A month later, he aggravated a previous injury to his LCL. The injuries resulted in Rollins suffering from “severe depression.”
Attorneys for Rollins claim no one within the athletic department provided their client with materials about mental health or a mental health referral after his injuries. Pressure from coaching staff to transfer and the death of his grandmother in January 2023 only furthered his depression, the lawsuit says.
In February 2023, Rollins took a mental health break after Kiffin allegedly moved him to the scout team offensive line. In the weeks following, athletic trainer Pat Jernigan scheduled meetings for Rollins with the school’s assistant athletic director for sport psychology after his mother informed staff that he was “suffering from a mental health crisis.”
Even though Kiffin and other football staff members repeatedly requested to meet with Rollins, the former three-star recruit did not meet with his head coach again until March 21. That’s when Kiffin kicked him off the team, according to an unverified recording included in the lawsuit.
Attorneys representing Kiffin and Ole Miss argued that the coach was not responsible for causing Rollins emotional distress and that he had the right to run his football program, which includes taking disciplinary action against players.
Rollins’ suit against Kiffin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning he cannot refile the same case in the same court. During his time in Oxford, Rollins has appeared in three games.
