Denver Nuggets have had one of the NBA's most popular team mascots for many years, but now one of the men who formerly donned the Rocky mask is suing the team's owner.
According to the Colorado Sun, Drake Solomon, 31, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, alleging he was fired after taking time off to recover from hip surgery. Solomon said the move was a violation of Colorado’s anti-discrimination act and disability protection laws.
"It was not easy to go ahead with this because I love the Nuggets," Solomon told the outlet. "They’ve been my whole life and my family. For things to end the way they did it was pretty heartbreaking."
Solomon began working for the Nuggets in 2012 as a trampoline stunt performer; however, his ties to the team go back several decades, as his dad, Kenn Solomon, worked as the Nuggets’ beloved mascot Rocky the Mountain Lion for roughly 30 years. Solomon was hired as his dad’s replacement in 2021.
During the 2022-2023 NBA season, Solomon was diagnosed with the bone tissue condition vascular necrosis and was forced to undergo hip surgery. He allegedly returned to work just 10 days after the procedure, but the hip pain continued into the following season. Solomon said he eventually decided to get a full hip replacement and returned to a "hostile work environment" after a relatively fast recovery.
Solomon claimed that supervisors began holding tryouts for a new mascot, citing his "record of impairment and their lack of confidence in his health." The team owner fired Solomon shortly after the auditions were held, saying he failed to secure the highest score during tryouts. He was allegedly asked to accept $20,000 as severance and a nondisclosure, non-disparagement, confidentiality agreement. He declined both.
The plaintiff’s attorneys said other former employees were presented with similar severance agreements, which violated state laws. Solomon is seeking unspecified damages from KSE, which also owns the Los Angeles Rams, the Colorado Avalanche, and other professional sports teams.
"We loved Rocky our entire lives. We always looked at the Nuggets as a second family and Rocky as a second dad," Solomon told The Sun. "For it to end so cold … it’s kind of like losing a family member. My dad was pretty devastated when he heard. He was the one that suggested I look into seeing what I can do to make some wrongs right."