Ole Miss Player Files Lawsuit Against Lane Kiffin, Alleges Mental Health Mistreatment

An Ole Miss football player has reportedly filed a lawsuit against his head coach, reports indicated on Thursday.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss Rebels defensive lineman DeSanto Rollins has filed a lawsuit against head coach Lane Kiffin and the university, reports indicated on Thursday.

In his suit, Rollins, a Black student-athlete, alleges racial discrimination on the part of Kiffin and Ole Miss, discrimination on the basis of disability, gross negligence and more. You can read details on the filing from the Clarion Ledger here.

In a statement from Ole Miss on Thursday night, the university alleges that it has not received a lawsuit and that Rollins was never removed from the team, a key part of his allegations. 

Rollins is reportedly seeking "$10 million in compensatory damages from Kiffin and Ole Miss, and $30 million in punitive damages from Kiffin. He is also seeking a temporary restraining order, as well as in injunction re-instating him."

"(He) remains on scholarship," Ole Miss said in its statement. "In addition, he continues to have the opportunity to receive all of the resources and advantages that are afforded a student-athlete at the university."

Rollins' mother reportedly asked for Ole Miss trainer Pat Jernigan to find a counselor for her son, and Rollins met with Josie Nicholson, assistant athletic director for sports psychology, on Feb. 28.

The filing claims that Ole Miss defensive line coach Randall Joyner notified Rollins on March 1 that Kiffin wanted to meet with him again. In a March 7 meeting with Nicholson, Rollins told the counselor that he did not yet want to meet with Kiffin because he was "not in a good place." After further attempts to schedule a meeting on the part of the staff, Rollins says he met with Kiffin on March 21.

It was then that Rollins alleges that Kiffin told him the following:

"See ya. Go, go, and guess what, we can kick you off the team, so go read your f****** rights about mental health. We can kick you off the team, for not showing up, when the head coach asks to meet with you and you don't show up for weeks. OK, we can remove you from the team.

"It's called being a p****. It's called hiding behind s*** and not showing up to work. You show up when your boss – so, when you have a real job, OK, someday, and your boss says, 'Hey, come in and meet,' I advise you to go meet with him, and not say, 'No, I'm not ready to meet with my boss, maybe a few weeks from now.'"

According to Rollins, he did not receive a mental health evaluation after suffering a concussion in the 2022 Grove Bowl, and his mental health suffered more after sustaining other injuries down the road. He also stated that coach Randall Joyner "pressured him to transfer following the 2022 season and that Kiffin met with him in February to tell him he would be moving to the scout team offensive line because he wouldn't transfer, and that if Rollins didn't like it, he should quit."

As a result of the mental health strain, Rollins states that he suffered from symptoms such as depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, panic attacks and hives.

These allegations are noteworthy given the fact that much has been made on the Ole Miss staff's certification in mental health first aid in the offseason. Ole Miss has claimed that it was the first program in the country to reach that mark, but Rollins also claims that Kiffin has never kicked a white player off the team for requesting or taking a break, and that women's volleyball players and white softball players at the university had been allowed to take breaks due to mental health issues.