Lawsuit Alleges Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin Treated Black, White Players Differently

Ole Miss defensive tackle DeSanto Rollins stated in his latest court filing against Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin that he "intentionally treated" him differently than white players and provided two allegations as examples.

Rollins, who is Black, alleged "evidence of disparate treatment of white and Black football players" in a court filing submitted through his lawyer, Carroll Edward Rhodes, per an exclusive via A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.

That particular filing has launched "a series of rebuttals" to Kiffin's motion to dismiss Rollins' lawsuit against the head coach and university "for failure to provide equal protection, racial and sexual discrimination, and multiple other allegations," per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

As far as the examples, the lawsuit stated that "a white male kicker for the football team tested positive for drugs, and Coach Kiffin gave him a break from the team, but he was not kicked off the team by Coach Kiffin" in 2022. That kicker is still with Ole Miss, per the lawsuit.

The filing also stated that Kiffin gave another white player a break from the team after his father fell ill and later passed away. The player is still with the Rebels.

Rollins' original lawsuit, per Dinich, claimed that Kiffin took "adverse action" versus Rollins "on account of race for requesting and taking a mental health break, but not taking adverse action against white student-athletes."

Rollins notably said that he "suffered severe depression, anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, humiliation, a loss of sleep and loss of appetite" following an Achilles injury suffered in July 2022. He also said the death of his grandmother contributed to his mental health.

Per Perez, Rollins said he met with Kiffin on Feb. 27 and said he was taking a "mental health break." Kiffin's motion to dismiss states he tried to meet with Rollins on multiple occasions in early March but was unsuccessful. Rollins' lawsuit states that he "did not want to meet with him yet because he was not in a good place."

The two eventually met on March 21, and Rollins taped a heated exchange between he and the coach, per Front Office Sports:

Rollins is still listed on the Ole Miss football roster, and the university stated in September that he was not removed from the team.

"We have not received a lawsuit. DeSanto was never removed from the football team and remains on scholarship. 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, a redshirt junior, has stated that he's in essence not a true member of the roster because he has not received "invites to team meetings or meals," "jersey and other apparel," "travel to away games" and "an invitation to participate in Senior Day," per the latest court filing relayed from Perez.

Kiffin's motion to dismiss the lawsuit provides the following reasons.

• Kiffin is entitled to qualified immunity with respect to Plaintiff's equal protection claim, and a direct equal protection claim cannot lie against an individual.

• The University is immune from ADA liability under the Eleventh Amendment, and Kiffin cannot be individually liable for ADA violations.

• Plaintiff cannot state claims under Title VI, Title IX, or the Rehabilitation Act.

• Plaintiff's negligence claims are barred by sovereign immunity and the Mississippi Tort Claims Act.

• Kiffin is not liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

• The Court should decline supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's state law claims.

• In support of their Motion, Defendants rely upon the pleadings and papers filed in this matter, including their accompanying brief in support.

Per David Eckert of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, Rollins seeks "$10 million in compensatory damages from Kiffin and Ole Miss, and $30 million in punitive damages from Kiffin."