Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss are SUED by defensive tackle DeSanto Rollins – who claims he has been kicked off the team – as player accuses them of ‘not providing proper mental health care’

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin and the school have been sued by a player who alleges the school did not provide him with proper mental health care – and that Kiffin kicked him off the team for taking a mental health break.

DeSanto Rollins, a redshirt junior, is still listed on the team’s roster and appeared in two games last season.

However, he’s brought a lawsuit against Kiffin and the school, as local TV station WCBI first reported, and says he was kicked off the team earlier this year.

The lawsuit makes widespread claims about the lack of mental health oversight at the school. Mail Sport has reached out to Ole Miss for comment.

While Rollins claimed that he was suffering mental health issues shortly before the start of the 2022 season, his allegations extend beyond that.

‘On April 23, 2022, Rollins suffered a concussion injury that affected his ability to concentrate, think and remember while during the UM Spring game, and the UM football coaching staff, football trainers and team physicians did not refer him for a mental health evaluation,’ the lawsuit read.

Rollins is still listed on the team roster but says he was kicked off the squad earlier this year

During that summer’s camp, Rollins injured his Achilles in July and re-aggravated his left LCL after tearing it two years earlier. Rollins alleges that he was ‘forced to practice’ after that latter injury.

Those injuries caused him to suffer ‘severe depression and anxiety,’ which he claims the school ‘knew or should have known about.’ 

Rollins alleges that he did not receive any mental health educational materials, and that the school did not have ‘written institutional procedures for routine mental health referrals.’

On February 27, 2023, the lawsuit alleges, Kiffin told Rollins that he would be moving from the defensive line to the offensive line scout team because he wouldn’t transfer to another school. 

This came after defensive line coach Randall Joyner allegedly ‘pressured’ Rollins to enter the transfer portal.

During the meeting with Kiffin, the coach ‘yelled at Rollins in a hostile and verbally threatening manner,’ with Rollins deciding he would be taking a mental health break.

On March 21, 2023, the two met again after Rollins hadn’t shown up to practice for the past two weeks.

Rollins is seen during a game against the Troy Trojans in September of last year

Kiffin ‘verbally assaulted’ Rollins during that meeting and suggested he ‘wouldn’t have mental health issues’ if he was playing defense instead.

Kiffin, the lawsuit states, eventually kicked Rollins off the team during that meeting for not showing up during his mental health break.

‘It’s called being a ‘p****y’, 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,’ Kiffin allegedly said.

Rollins alleged that his anxiety worsened after being kicked off the team.