A former University of Utah running back is accusing the school of sidelining his football career because of his Type 1 diabetes, claiming the move cost him playing time, transfer interest, and eventually his scholarship.
Devin Green, who arrived from UNLV in the spring of 2025 and never saw game action for the Utes that season, filed a federal lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court in Utah. The complaint names running backs coach Mark Atuaia, former head coach Kyle Whittingham, athletic director Mark Harlan, and several other staffers as defendants, and alleges that although Green was medically cleared, coaches restricted his practice reps, kept him out of key drills and road trips, pushed him into the NCAA transfer portal, and later cut off his scholarship. He is asking for a jury trial and unspecified damages, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The university said in a brief statement that it is aware of the lawsuit and will not comment while the case is pending. Green’s filing asserts that Utah’s medical staff cleared him to play, yet coaches “routinely limited” him to observing, not fully participating, and on at least one occasion held him out of a scrimmage after saying they were “scared” to put him on the field, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
What Green Alleges
In the lawsuit, Green says he was repeatedly denied full-speed practice reps and the kind of evaluative opportunities players need to climb the depth chart. He claims he was mostly left out of game-planning, dressed for only one game, against BYU, and did not play. Those limits, he argues, made other programs uninterested when he appeared in the transfer portal and caused him “severe emotional distress.”
Federal Law at Play
Green’s complaint leans on two federal disability laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Both bar public universities that receive federal funds from excluding qualified individuals from programs because of a disability and require reasonable modifications so those individuals can participate. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and ADA materials spell out how those obligations apply to schools, as detailed on ADA.gov and by the ADA National Network.
Why This Could Matter
Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the ADA, courts can order remedies such as injunctive relief and attorney fees and, in some situations, compensatory damages, depending on how a case is proven. Previous diabetes-related discrimination cases have ended with significant payouts, including a 2015 matter that settled for around $725,000, according to an Associated Press account carried by KSL. Broader case law on disability discrimination, such as Ferguson v. City of Phoenix, helps shape how courts analyze these claims.
Green’s suit is now moving through federal court in Salt Lake City, with no immediate public response from the coaches named in the filing. The case drops right into an ongoing national debate over how far college programs should go in limiting athletes with chronic medical conditions in the name of safety and risk management.
