Fired Nuggets Mascot Claims Wrongful Termination Amid Health Recovery
DENVER — Mascots usually don’t have many words, but this former mascot does.
Drake Solomon, who played the Denver Nuggets’ mascot Rocky from 2021 to 2024, is suing his former employer, claiming the team let him go because of his ongoing medical issues, even though he had an “excellent medical prognosis” after a hip surgery.
Solomon took the reins of Rocky from his father, Kenn, who was the original version of Rocky, the mountain lion.
“I grew up around it my entire life,” Solomon said in an interview with 9NEWS. “Two weeks old, my dad had me on the court. I could barely hold my head up – doing a little dance to ‘Twist and Shout.’
“I had a strong loyalty to this company since I was two weeks old on the court, and it was just heartbreaking, not just for me, but for my family as well.”
Solomon started working for the Nuggets after high school and quickly rose to the ranks of his dad’s assistant, even filling in for him occasionally.
In 2021, he took over from his dad. But it was a rocky road for the new Rocky.
In 2022, Solomon started noticing some hip pain. A doctor diagnosed him with avascular necrosis, an ailment that limits blood flow to the legs and causes some deterioration of bone.
In March of 2023, Solomon had surgery called bilateral core decompression. He returned to work ten days after that surgery in an administrative capacity. His dad came out of retirement to play the role of Rocky through the end of the 2023 championship season.
The surgery seemed successful at first, he said. But then the younger Solomon began experiencing pain again.
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