Former Denver Nuggets mascot Drake Solomon, who suited up as Rocky for three years, filed a lawsuit against team ownership, USA Today reports. Solomon sued Kroenke Sports & Entertainment on Tuesday in Denver District Court, alleging the franchise violated Colorado disability protection laws — namely, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act — when it fired him after he sustained a hip injury. The lawsuit also accuses supervisors of aiding and abetting unfair employment practices.
Solomon was injured during the 2022-23 season. He received an avascular necrosis diagnosis and underwent surgery to treat the death of bone tissue caused by a lack of blood supply. He also required a hip replacement. In his lawsuit, Solomon said the Nuggets informed him they would hold tryouts for the mascot position because of “his record of impairment and their lack of confidence in his health.”
When he returned from the hip surgery, Solomon said he faced a “hostile work environment” and alleged that the Nuggets held mascot tryouts because he “burned them last time.”
The Nuggets fired Solomon without cause, per the lawsuit, in August 2024. The team later informed him that he was fired because he failed to score first during tryouts.
The lawsuit also paves the way for a potential class-action lawsuit to arise. Solomon argues the severance package Kroenke Sports & Entertainment offered him is unlawful because it is the exact package the company offered to other employees.
Solomon joined the Nuggets in 2012 as a trampoline dunk artist and member of the team’s Promo Squad. He was hired in 2021 to play the Rocky role, following in his father’s footsteps as the elder Solomon landed the job in 1990 and held it for more than 30 years. Solomon’s father was with the team for Rocky’s debut season in 1990-91.