Ole Miss defensive tackle DeSanto Rollins claimed in his most recent court filing against Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin that he “intentionally treated” him differently than white players, citing two charges as instances.
Rollins, who is Black, stated “evidence of disparate treatment of white and Black football players” in a court declaration issued through his lawyer, Carroll Edward Rhodes, according to an exclusive via A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.
According to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, that filing triggered “a series of rebuttals” to Kiffin’s move to dismiss Rollins’ complaint against the head coach and university for “failure to provide equal protection, racial and sexual discrimination, and multiple other allegations.”
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, when Rollins recorded a furious conversation between himself and the coach, according to Front Office Sports:
Rollins is still on the Ole Miss football roster, and the institution confirmed in September that he had not been removed from the team.
“We have not received any lawsuits. DeSanto was never removed from the football team and is still on scholarship. Furthermore, he continues to have access to all of the resources and benefits available to a university student-athlete.
Rollins, a redshirt junior, has claimed that he is 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,” or “an invitation to participate in Senior Day,” according to the most recent court filing relayed by Perez.
