BATON ROUGE, La. -- A student-athlete born with only one kidney sued the University of Southern Mississippi on Wednesday, saying school officials pulled him off the football team after learning of his medical condition.
Deven Hammond's lawsuit accuses Southern Miss of violating federal anti-discrimination laws. The 20-year-old, now enrolled at Louisiana State University, says he's never had any kidney-related problems during football games or practices in high school or college.
But his federal suit contends that Southern Miss officials repeatedly raised "liability" concerns after he mentioned his condition to the school's head athletic trainer in June. Hammond's offer to sign a waiver of liability didn't persuade school officials to let the defensive back rejoin the team, the suit says.