Football Player With 1 Kidney Sues School

BATON ROUGE, LA — A lawsuit filed Wednesday says 20-year-old Deven Hammond says he was discriminated against by the University of Southern Mississippi because he only has one kidney.

The school would not let him play football, he said, even though he never has had any kidney-related problems during football games or practices in high school or college.

Student Health Services Center authorized him to play, Hammond said. He even offered to sign a waiver before joining the team, the lawsuit said.

The suit claims Southern Miss officials repeatedly raised "liability" concerns after learning of Hammond's medical condition.

Southern Miss athletics department spokesman Jack Duggan says he can't comment on pending litigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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