Heated Lane Kiffin, DeSanto Rollins audio released as Ole Miss files to dismiss mental health lawsuit

Heated Lane Kiffin, DeSanto Rollins audio released as Ole Miss files to dismiss mental health lawsuit

Audio of an exchange between a heated Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss football player has been released as a motion was filed Wednesday on behalf of Kiffin to dismiss a lawsuit filed by DeSanto Rollins alleging he was kicked off the team during a mental health crisis.

The school stated in Wednesday’s filing seeking dismissal that Rollins remains on the team and on scholarship.

Kiffin, the Ole Miss coach, in a recording of the conversation, said, ‘Go, you’re off the team. You’re done.” However, he later said in the conversation, “We can kick you off the team.”

The full transcript is below.

Rollins is suing Kiffin and the school, per ESPN, “for failure to provide equal protection, racial and sexual discrimination and multiple other allegations.”

Rollins, who is Black, is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. He claims he was not supported through his depression the way white and female athletes have been at Ole Miss.

Attorneys for Kiffin and Ole Miss argued that they “are immune” from some of the claims, while other allegations fail to “state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”

Carroll Rhodes, an attorney representing Rollins, told The Associated Press on Thursday that “what they filed was not accurate.”

“We’ll be filing a response in due course,” Rhodes, who is based in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, said.

According to Front Office Sports, Rollins met with Kiffin on Feb. 27, and the coach told Rollins he was moving from defensive tackle to the scout team’s offensive line because he wouldn’t transfer, per the report. According to the lawsuit, Rollins asked Kiffin if this was “a choice or a command.”

Rollins alleged that Kiffin told him “if he didn’t like it, then he should quit.” At that point, Rollins said he was taking “a mental break.”

The two didn’t meet again until March 21, despite several attempts by the football program to communicate with the player. During the meeting, Rollins, per ESPN’s report, legally recorded Kiffin without his knowledge.

Per ESPN:

“Ok, you have a f—ing head coach. This is a job. Guess what? If I have mental issues — and I’m not diminishing them — I can’t not see my f—ing boss,” Kiffin said, according to the lawsuit and the audio recording. “When you were told again and again the head coach needs to see you, (it) wasn’t to make you practice, (it) wasn’t to play a position you don’t f—ing want to, OK? It was to talk to you and explain to you in the real world, OK? So I don’t give a f— what your mom (says), OK, or what you think in the real f—ing world, you show up to work. And then you say, ‘Hey, I have mental issues. I can’t do anything for two weeks. But if you change my position I won’t have mental issues.’

“I guarantee if we f—ing called you in and said you’re playing defense, would you have mental issues?”

Answered Rollins: “I definitely would.”

During the audio exchange, Rollins is heard saying, “I mean, you’re acting like my issues aren’t real.”

“I didn’t say they’re not real,” Kiffin responded. “You show up when your head — when your boss — wants to meet with you. It wouldn’t have been like this … if you would’ve come here when you kept getting messages (that) the head coach wants to talk to you. And you say, ‘I’m not ready to talk to him.’”

Said Rollins: “I wasn’t.”

“What f—ing world do you live in?” Kiffin asked.

Answered Rollins: “I don’t see why you have to be disrespectful, honestly.”

“Get out of here,” Kiffin said. “Go. You’re off the team. You’re done. See ya. Go. And guess what? We can kick you off the team. So go read your f—ing 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, we can remove you from the team.

“It’s called being a p—y. It’s called hiding behind s— and not showing up to work.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.