Former Rocky Mascot Sues Nuggets for Discrimination, Wrongful Termination After Hip Replacement

Drake Solomon, who performed as Rocky, the Denver Nuggets mascot, is suing the franchise’s parent company for alleged wrongful termination and disability-based discrimination.

Solomon took over as Rocky when his father, Kenn Solomon, retired in 2021. He alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) fired him in August 2024, months after he had hip replacement surgery to combat avascular necrosis (AVN). The lawsuit contends the Nuggets violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act through discrimination on the basis of disability, retaliation, and two claims of aiding and abetting unfair employment practices against his KSE supervisors.

The complaint also calls for a potential class-action lawsuit, based on the plaintiff’s argument that KSE violated the Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights (POWR) Act with the severance agreement it offered Solomon.

Kenn Solomon was the original Rocky mascot, making his debut for the Nuggets on Dec. 15, 1990. He performed as Rocky for more than three decades before retiring in 2021. Drake Solomon began working for KSE in 2012 as a member of the “Promo Squad” and spent time as the backup mascot and his father’s game-night assistant.

To read the full article visit: https://www.denverpost.com/2025/08/13/nuggets-rocky-mascot-lawsuit/