Mississippi
Mississippi player sues coach Lane Kiffin, school for lack of support during mental health crisis
A Mississippi football player is suing coach Lane Kiffin and the school for racial and sexual discrimination and negligence, saying he was kicked off the team during a mental health crisis.
DeSanto Rollins, a defensive tackle from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, where the school is located.
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.
“We have not received a lawsuit,” the school said Friday through spokesman Kyle Campbell. “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.”
Rollins was still listed on the Rebels’ roster as of Friday.
A letter dated May 3 from the office of Rollins’ attorney, Carroll Rhodes of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, was addressed to Kiffin, Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce, state Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Commissioner of Higher Education Alfred Rankins and laid out Rollins’ tort claims demand.
The lawsuit claims none of the defendants responded to the letter.
Rollins’ playing career has been hampered by injuries, including a concussion and Achilles tendon injury in the spring and summer of 2022, that left him severely depressed, the lawsuit said.
He said nobody within the athletic department or football program provided him with direction or referrals to mental health services after his injuries.
Rollins said Kiffin and defensive line coach Randall Joyner urged him last November to enter the transfer portal, but he declined.
In January, Rollins’ grandmother died and he “continued to suffer severe depression,” according to the lawsuit.
In late February, Rollins was told by Kiffin that he was moving to the offense line and relegated to the scout team, the lawsuit said.
After Rollins’ mother reached out to the football team’s athletic trainer, Rollins was directed to psychologist Josie Nicholson. The two met on Feb. 28.
The complaint states Joyner told Rollins on March 1 that Kiffin wanted to meet with the player. Rollins had another appointment with Nicholson on March 7, the suit said, and told Nicholson he did not want to meet with Kiffin.
After repeated requests from the football staff, Rollins met with Kiffin on March 21. Rollins says he made an audio recording of his coach berating him and kicking him off the team during that meeting.
Kiffin said playing on the team was the equivalent of having a job.
“… If I have mental issues and I’m not diminishing them, I can’t not see my (expletive) boss,” Kiffin said, according to the lawsuit.
“When you were told again and again the head coach needs to see you, wasn’t to make you practice, wasn’t to play a position you don’t (expletive) want to, OK? It was to talk to you and explain to you in the real world, OK? So I don’t give a (expletive) what your mom say, OK, or what you think in the real (expletive) 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.’”
Later in the conversation, the lawsuit claims, Rollins said: “You’re acting like my issues aren’t real.”
Kiffin replied: “I didn’t say they’re not real. 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 the head coach wants to talk to you, you say, ‘I’m not ready to talk to him.’”
Kiffin then added: “Go, you’re off the team. You’re done. See ya.”
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Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
![Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/08/PKNS/75130225007-usatsi-24184754.jpg?auto=webp&crop=4080,2296,x0,y294&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
![Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/08/PKNS/75130223007-usatsi-24184733.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3382,1904,x0,y239&format=pjpg&width=1200)
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Arizona State football turns heads with ‘unreal’ uniforms vs Mississippi State
![Arizona State football turns heads with ‘unreal’ uniforms vs Mississippi State Arizona State football turns heads with ‘unreal’ uniforms vs Mississippi State](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/07/PPHX/75127214007-asuuniformms.png?auto=webp&crop=450,254,x0,y9&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Sam Leavitt leads ASU to convincing victory in 1st career start
Leavitt and the Sun Devils cruised past visiting Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
The Arizona State football team elevated its play on the field in its 48-7 win over Wyoming in Week 1.
It is elevating its uniform game for Week 2 against Mississippi State.
ASU football is wearing a gold alternate jersey against the Bulldogs at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Saturday night.
The jersey includes maroon “Arizona State” lettering and maroon numbering, along with a noticeable Big 12 logo.
The Sun Devil football team unveiled the uniform last month, with Athletic Director Graham Rossini posting that “you’ll see this on the field early this season.”
On Thursday, ASU football announced that it would be wearing the uniform against Mississippi State with a video that said “Modern shine, with a classic design.”
On Friday, it posted another look at the uniform.
More: Arizona State vs Mississippi State live score updates, analysis for college football game
ASU vs Mississippi State schedule, TV: How to watch college football game
Promising look: Arizona State football’s 2024 win prediction doubles after Week 1 victory over Wyoming
Social media reacted favorably overall to ASU football’s uniform vs Mississippi State:
Do you like the look for ASU football?
ASU vs. Mississippi State picks: Who wins Week 2 college football game?
Looking promising: Arizona State football makes huge leap in college football ranking, Big 12 power rankings
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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