The only Black head team doctor in the NFL is suing his former employers, the Atlanta Falcons and Emory University, for racial discrimination and retaliation.
Dr. Brandon Mines has also listed his former supervisors Dr. Kenneth Mautner and Dr. Scott Bolden in the lawsuit.
In the June 1 complaint, Mines claimed his rights had been violated after he was fired from the Falcons. He accused the team and Emory of retaliating 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.”
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“The termination stifled [Mines’] promising career trajectory and eroded trust within the sports medicine community at Emory,” the lawsuit stated. “The ripple effects of this unlawful termination are far-reaching, casting doubt over Emory’s and the Falcons’ commitment to diversity and inclusivity and creating a culture of uncertainty and fear among its Black physicians.”
Mines began working with Emory University in 2005 and “had every intention to remain with Emory until his retirement.” Simultaneously, he started working with the Falcons in 2011 and was promoted to be the side’s head medical physician in 2014. In 2019, Mines signed a multi-year contract with Emory University that partnered with the Falcons.
Over the years, Mines went for new promotions but, according to the lawsuit, he said that he was passed over for roles that instead went to white colleagues who were not as qualified. Mines also applied for positions with the Atlanta Braves MLB team, which was contracted with Emory, as well as the Atlanta Hawks NBA side, but the complaint claims that his bosses, Boden and Mautner—both of whom are white, seemed to prefer white doctors.
“Every time, Boden appointed only white physicians for this leadership position. Even worse, Boden intentionally and maliciously rejected recommendations from other Emory leaders regarding Plaintiff’s candidacy to be the Head Team Physician for the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 and the Atlanta Hawks in 2016,” according to the lawsuit.
Mines also brainstormed new ideas at Emory and said he would be interested in leading them. Boden and Mautner acknowledged they were good ideas, but nothing ever came of them. Specifically, Mines showed interest in becoming the Co-Director of Sports Medicine, but never got a direct answer from his supervisors.
In an annual job review in 2023, Mines officially put his employers on notice and complained about always being overlooked.
From that point on out, Mines was the target of a retaliation plan, the lawsuit claimed. Unlike his colleagues at Emory, his family was not allowed to visit. Also, one of his supervisors ended up creating an Emory position that Mines had been requesting for years. However, the position was “watered down” to be a less senior role.
In May 2023, Mines was “abruptly” terminated from the Falcons without “any substantive explanation or valid cause” and “tarnished [Mines’] impeccable reputation and undermined diversity and inclusion efforts within Emory and the NFL.”
“As the only Black Head Team Medical Physician in the entire NFL, [Mines’] termination raised serious questions about fairness, equality, and unlawful racial bias within Emory and the Falcons,” the lawsuit stated. “The termination stifled [Mines’] promising career trajectory and eroded trust within the sports medicine community at Emory. The ripple effects of this unlawful termination are far-reaching, casting doubt over Emory’s and the Falcons’ commitment to diversity and inclusivity and creating a culture of uncertainty and fear among its Black physicians.”
But the discrimination was far from over, Mines alleges.
While holding his job at Emory, the lawsuit claims Mines endured more microaggressions and filed a formal complaint with the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion office but to no avail. He claimed that his supervisors constantly labeled him as “angry” and “aggressive,” racial tropes used to stigmatize Black people. Mines continued to blast how discriminatory behavior seeped over from the Falcons to Emory, but it was as if no one ever heard his cries for help and no investigations were conducted.
Mines submitted his resignation from Emory in April 2024 after continuing to experience racism on the job, the lawsuit claimed.
“[Mines’] resignation was a constructive discharge because it was the direct and proximate consequence of severe and pervasive racial discrimination and retaliation that made his working environment so intolerable that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign,” the lawsuit read.
Mines has accused his former employers of “willful, wanton, and malicious” conduct. The lawsuit says they are responsible for the “malicious and outrageous race discrimination and resulting hostile work environment.”
In turn for suffering from “physical and mental harm, lost wages, professional and reputational damage, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety,” Mines wants a trial by jury. He also seeks compensation for punitive damages and reimbursement for attorneys’ fees.
In a statement issued to The Daily Beast, Emory Healthcare said it “is proud of its long history and strong record of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The healthcare system added that it was unable to make specific comments on pending litigation.
Neither the Falcons nor Mines’ legal team did not immediately return The Daily Beast’s requests for comment Thursday.
