The Atlanta Falcons have asked a Georgia federal judge to toss out a lawsuit from the team's former head physician, Brandon Mines, MD, according to an Aug. 13 report from Law360.
The lawsuit is part of a larger suit filed against Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare, which the Falcons have referred to as "unintelligible" and a "quintessential shotgun pleading."
Dr. Mines, the only Black head team physician in the NFL, is suing the Falcons, Emory University and his former supervisors, Kenneth Mautner, MD, and Scott Bolden, MD, for racial discrimination and retaliation, according to court documents filed in June.
Dr. Mines claims his rights were violated after he was fired from the Falcons and claims the team and Emory retaliated against him by withholding his wages and spreading false statements about him, including that he allegedly "failed to maintain player medical records and that he missed a brain tumor in one of the Atlanta Falcons players."
"The termination stifled his promising career trajectory and eroded trust within the sports medicine community at Emory," the lawsuit reads.
Becker's has reached out to Emory University's health system for comment.
Dr. Mines began working with Emory in 2005 and began working with the Falcons in 2011. In 2019, he signed a multi-year contract with Emory University that partnered it with the Falcons.
During that time, Dr. Mines sought promotions, but he alleges he was passed over for roles that instead went to white colleagues who were not as qualified.
He also applied for positions with MLB's Atlanta Braves, who were contracted with Emory, as well as the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, but the complaint claims that his supervisors, Dr. Boden and Dr. Mautner, preferred white physicians.
In 2023, Dr. Mines showed interest in becoming the co-director of sports medicine, and in his job review, officially complained about being overlooked. The lawsuit claims that from that point on, Dr. Mines faced retaliation, including having his position watered down to a less senior role.
In May 2023, Dr. Mines was "abruptly" terminated from the Falcons without "any substantive explanation or valid cause," according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims Dr. Mines then faced additional microaggressions at Emory, and eventually resigned in April after facing more racism on the job.
Dr. Mines is seeking a trial to make up for "physical and mental harm, lost wages, professional and reputational damage, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety." He also seeks compensation for punitive damages and reimbursement for attorneys' fees.