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[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 22-10482 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ JAMES D. STEFFENS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus CHRISTOPHER NOCCO, in his Official Capacity as Pasco County Sheriff,

Defendant-Appellee.

____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:19-cv-01940-KKM-AAS USCA11 Case: 22-10482 Document: 37-1 Date Filed: 03/22/2023 Page: 2 of 8

PER CURIAM: James Steffens appeals the grant of summary judgment to his former employer Sheriff Christopher Nocco, in his official ca- pacity as Pasco County Sheriff. Steffens is biracial and worked as a Captain in the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. Steffens asserts the district court erred by applying a single-intent analysis, rather than a mixed-motive analysis, to his race discrimination case, and that his claim would have survived summary judgment under a mixed- motive analysis. Additionally, Steffens asserts the district court erred by failing to find he had presented a “convincing mosaic” of evidence of discrimination. After review, 1 we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment.

I. MIXED-MOTIVE Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer “to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individ- ual’s race . . . .” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). Discrimination claims brought under Title VII are categorized as either mixed-motive or

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22-10482 Opinion of the Court 3 single-motive claims. Quigg v. Thomas Cnty. Sch. Dist., 814 F.3d 1227, 1235 (11th Cir. 2016); see also 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2(a), (m).

The district court analyzed Steffens’ claim under the McDonnell Douglas analysis as Steffens pled and litigated his case under a sin- gle-intent theory. E.E.O.C. v. Joe’s Stone Crabs, Inc., 296 F.3d 1265, 1272 (11th Cir. 2002) (explaining a plaintiff can prove a single- motive employment discrimination claim through circumstantial evidence, which we generally analyze using a three-step, burden- shifting framework identified in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973)).

Steffens failed to argue a mixed-motive discrimination case before the district court and we do not consider it. 2 See Access Now, Inc. v. Sw. Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1331-32 (11th Cir. 2004) (stating an issue not raised in the district court and raised for the first time on appeal in a civil case will not be considered absent extraordinary circumstances). Steffens’ amended complaint failed to allege the actions taken against him resulted from mixed mo- tives or that his interracial relationship was only a motivating factor for these actions. In his response to Nocco’s motion for summary Even if we considered Steffens’ mixed-motive claim, it would fail as Steffens failed to show an adverse employment action, as discussed in Part II of this opinion. See Quigg, 814 F.3d at 1239 (stating for a Title VII claim presented under a mixed-motive theory to survive summary judgment, a plaintiff must introduce evidence sufficient to support a jury finding that: “(1) the defendant took an adverse employment action against the plaintiff; and (2) a protected characteristic was a motivating factor for the defendant’s adverse employment action” (quotation marks, alterations, and emphasis omitted)).

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As Steffens never pled or litigated his case under a mixed- motive theory before the district court, the district court did not err in evaluating the case under the single-intent framework in McDonnell Douglas. Additionally, in his initial brief, Steffens fails to challenge the district court’s finding that he did not establish a prima facie case of race discrimination under McDonnell Douglas because he failed to identify a similarly situated comparator treated more favorably than him, thus abandoning any challenge on this basis. United States v. Campbell, 26 F.4th 860, 873 (11th Cir.) (en banc), petition for cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 95 (2022) (stating issues USCA11 Case: 22-10482 Document: 37-1 Date Filed: 03/22/2023 Page: 5 of 8

22-10482 Opinion of the Court 5 not raised in an appellant’s initial brief are deemed abandoned and will not be addressed absent extraordinary circumstances); Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 680 (11th Cir. 2014) (stating an appellant must clearly and specifically identify in his brief any issue he wants the appellate court to address).

II. CONVINCING MOSAIC A plaintiff will “survive summary judgment if he presents circumstantial evidence that creates a triable issue concerning the employer’s discriminatory intent.” Smith v. Lockheed-Martin Corp., 644 F.3d 1321, 1328 (11th Cir. 2011). “A triable issue of fact exists if the record, viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, presents a convincing mosaic of circumstantial evidence that would allow a jury to infer intentional discrimination by the deci- sionmaker.” Id. (quotation and footnote omitted). A plaintiff may establish a “convincing mosaic” by pointing to evidence that demonstrates (1) suspicious timing, ambiguous statements, or other information from which discriminatory intent may be in- ferred, (2) systematically better treatment of similarly situated em- ployees, and (3) pretext. Lewis v. City of Union City, 934 F.3d 1169, 1185 (11th Cir. 2019).

As to a “convincing mosaic” argument, Steffens failed to provide sufficient evidence from which a jury could infer discrimi- natory intent on the part of the decisionmaker. Steffens has not identified an adverse employment action onto which a jury could infer discriminatory intent. Steffens argues he suffered multiple ad- verse employment actions, including multiple failures to promote.

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Additionally, the district court did not err in finding Steffens voluntarily chose to resign rather than “stand pat and fight” an in- vestigation. See Hargray v. City of Hallandale, 57 F.3d 1560, 1568 (11th Cir. 1995) (stating we presume that resignations are volun- tary, unless an employer forces the employee to resign by coercion, duress, deceit, or misrepresentation of a material fact). First, Stef- fens was aware he was being investigated and Major Ken Gregory had informed him that it “did not look good.” Later that day, Stef- fens was told Nocco had lost faith in him, and he was asked if he would resign effective immediately. Steffens testified he knew he could choose to resign, leaving the agency in good standing, or to face the investigation, under which “all options,” including the po- tential for no disciplinary action to be taken, were available.

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22-10482 Opinion of the Court 7 Steffens requested to speak with Nocco, but when that request was denied, he did not seek additional time to consider or consult coun- sel. Rather he stated “[y]ou know what my answer is” and pre- pared a written resignation. Given this, Steffens knew his options and, rather than choosing to “stand pat and fight,” facing the inves- tigation, he chose to voluntarily resign. Thus, considering the to- tality of the circumstances, the district court did not err in finding, as a matter of law, that Steffens’ resignation was a voluntary choice to take what he viewed as the best of two bad options, not a result of coercion, duress, deceit, or misrepresentation of a material fact. Id. As such, no reasonable jury could infer that a decisionmaker acted with discriminatory intent, as the only relevant decision, Stef- fens’ resignation, was made voluntarily by Steffens. Lockheed- Martin Corp., 644 F.3d at 1328. Even if we apply the “convincing mosaic” analysis to Nocco’s decision to request Steffens’ resigna- tion, Steffens has failed to provide evidence from which a jury could infer that the decisionmaker, Nocco, acted with discrimina- tory intent. Steffens has not pointed to any piece of evidence show- ing Gregory provided inaccurate or biased information to Nocco which could bias his decision. Rather, the record shows the order to request Steffens’ resignation came from Nocco through Colonel Jeffrey Harrington. Steffens has not asserted Nocco made any am- biguous statements or otherwise showed discriminatory intent to- ward Steffens. Rather, the record shows Nocco hired Steffens knowing he was in a interracial relationship, promoted him while USCA11 Case: 22-10482 Document: 37-1 Date Filed: 03/22/2023 Page: 8 of 8

Given this evidence, no reasonable jury could infer discriminatory intent. See id. AFFIRMED.