A former Denver Nuggets mascot is suing the team’s owner, alleging he was wrongfully terminated after returning from a hip replacement surgery.
Drake Solomon, 31, portrayed “Rocky” the mountain lion from 2021 to 2024. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Denver District Court obtained by USA Today, Solomon accused Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), which owns the Nuggets, of violating Colorado’s disability protection laws, retaliation, and aiding and abetting unfair employment practices. He is seeking unspecified damages.
Solomon’s father, Kenn, was the original Rocky, debuting in 1990. The younger Solomon first joined the Nuggets in 2012 as a trampoline dunk artist before being hired to wear the Rocky suit full time nearly a decade later.
During the 2022–23 season, Solomon was diagnosed with avascular necrosis, a condition where bone tissues die due to a lack of blood supply. He underwent his first surgery and was told he would soon need a full hip replacement. According to the lawsuit per USA Today, the Nuggets informed him they would hold tryouts for the mascot role because of “his record of impairment and their lack of confidence in his health.”
Solomon says he returned from the surgery to a “hostile work environment” and was then fired in August 2024. The team later told him, according to the complaint, that he was terminated because he did not finish first in his post-surgery tryout.
Solomon’s attorneys are also challenging the severance agreement he was offered by KSE, which included nondisclosure, nondisparagement, and confidentiality provisions they claim violate state law. They argue the same agreement was presented to other employees.
In an interview with Denver’s 9NEWS, Solomon said he was never given a clear reason for his termination. “They just pulled me into their office one day and decided they were gonna take things in a different direction,” he said.
KSE also owns the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and MLS’s Colorado Rapids. The Nuggets owner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
