Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, DeSanto Rollins Exchange Revealed in Leaked Audio amid Lawsuit

Nearly two months after Mississippi defensive tackle DeSanto Rollins filed a lawsuit against the school and head football coach Lane Kiffin for multiple allegations that include failing to provide equal protection, racial and sexual discrimination, audio of an alleged exchange between Kiffin and Rollins has been leaked.

In the audio recorded by Rollins and obtained by A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, Kiffin is heard telling Rollins to “go read your f–king rights about mental health” before saying “we can kick you off the team.”

In the original lawsuit filed on Sept. 14 (h/t ESPN’s Heather Dinich), Rollins alleged that Kiffin took unfavorable action against him “on account of race for requesting and taking a mental health break” when Kiffin did not take “adverse action against white student-athletes” for the same request.

Rollins’ lawsuit also alleges sexual discrimination against the university on the basis it has not taken “adverse action against female student-athletes for requesting and taking a mental health break.”

In the lawsuit, Rollins said he suffered multiple injuries during his football career with the Rebels. He claimed he “suffered severe depression, anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, humiliation, a loss of sleep and loss of appetite” stemming from an Achilles injury that occurred in July 2022.

Rollins also stated nobody with the Ole Miss athletic department or football staff provided him with any materials about mental health, nor did he receive a mental health referral while recovering from his injuries.

Late in the 2022 season, Rollins said defensive line coach Randall Joyner attempted to persuade him to enter the transfer portal during an exit meeting.

During a Feb. 23 meeting between Rollins and Kiffin, per the lawsuit, Rollins said Kiffin told him he would be moving from defensive tackle to the scout team offensive line. Rollins said he responded by asking the head coach if this was “a choice or a command,” with Kiffin allegedly saying “he should quit” if he didn’t like it.

Rollins said after that he was going to take a “mental break,” and his mother, Connie Hollins, said she called Ole Miss athletic trainer Pat Jernigan to say her son was “suffering a mental health crisis” and requested a counselor to speak with and monitor Rollins.

In a motion filed on Wednesday obtained by Perez, attorneys for Kiffin and the university argued to dismiss the lawsuit because Rollins “has not alleged Kiffin treated him differently than other similarly situated individuals, much less that he did so with discriminatory intent because of Plaintiff’s race or sex.”

According to Perez, court filings stated Ole Miss assistant athletic director for sport psychology Josie Nicholson told Rollins to meet with Kiffin on March 7. The meeting wound up taking place on March 21, which was transcribed as part of the lawsuit.

“You have a f–king head coach,” Kiffin said. “This is a job. Guess what? If I have mental issues —and I’m not diminishing them—I can’t not see my f–king boss, when you were told again and again the head coach needs to see you.”

Rollins signed a letter of intent to play football at Mississippi in December 2019. He joined the program for the 2020 season, but didn’t appear in a game as a redshirt. The Louisiana native appeared in a total of three games during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.