Ole Miss' DeSanto Rollins sues Kiffin, school over mental health - ESPN

Ole Miss defensive tackle DeSanto Rollins, who said he was recently kicked off the team for missing practices and meetings during a «mental health crisis,» is suing the university and coach Lane Kiffin for failure to provide equal protection, racial and sexual discrimination, and multiple other allegations, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.

Rollins, a backup lineman whose career has been marred by injuries, is demanding $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. The lawsuit alleges that Kiffin intentionally took adverse action against Rollins «on account of race for requesting and taking a mental health break, but not taking adverse action against white student-athletes» for the same request. It alleges sexual discrimination on the basis that Ole Miss has not taken «adverse action against female student-athletes for requesting and taking a mental health break.»

«We have not received a lawsuit,» Ole Miss wrote in a statement issued through a school spokesman Thursday night. «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.»

Kiffin declined to comment, deferring to the university's statement.

The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi Oxford Division and obtained by ESPN, alleges that at the time of the incident, Ole Miss «did not have written institutional procedures for routine mental health referrals.» It also states that Kiffin, the rest of the coaching staff and the football athletic trainers weren't provided with «role-appropriate training about the signs