Football players from a Texas high school were reportedly sent to the hospital after their coach had them perform 400 pushups in one hour as punishment.
John Harrell, the head football coach at Rockwall Heath High School, is accused of making his players complete the demanding assignment. He’s been placed on administrative leave while an outside inquiry is conducted.
Letter Delivered To Parents
All of this was revealed in a letter the school delivered to parents, according to Fox 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth.
According to one mother, her kid was made to perform 300 to 400 pushups while being denied a water break, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News. Rhabdomyolysis, which can result in kidney damage or failure, sent her son to the hospital.
Up until this terrible incident, parents sent their children to school with the expectation that they would receive the best possible care, the parent stated.
According to the paper, the event that happened last Friday in a sports class resulted in at least eight student-athletes being admitted to hospitals.
Administrators at Rockwall Heath said that they were informed of the event on Monday and took quick action.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the letter to parents stated that “the district is also taking interim measures, including but not limited to, placing Coach Harrell on administrative leave while the inquiry is underway and informing relevant outside entities.” “The impacted families and student-athletes have been in touch with district leaders and campus staff.”
Harrell has been a part of the football team at the renowned athletic Rockwall Heath High School since 2019. He has served as interim head coach for one season while previously coached in other parts of North Texas.
The football team’s captain, Brady Luff, claimed that after witnessing the exercise, he did not think Harrell was penalizing the guys. He claimed that it was “instilling discipline” instead.
Luff said that the players had access to water and were allowed to leave if necessary.
Luff stated, “He’s treated us all with nothing but respect, and he loves each and every one of us like his own.
Stefanie Luff, Luff’s mother, likewise saw nothing wrong with Harrell’s training.
She said, “I would have been the first one up at the principal’s officer or wherever I needed to go to have this shut down if anything with this circumstance was going on that I believed these kids were being hurt.”
Coach Suspended
Following a session, some players in Rockwall’s high school football program required medical assistance. The coach was consequently suspended.
A plan is being put in place to figure out exactly what transpired, according to the principal of Rockwall Heath High School.
In order to look into the occurrence, the school system claimed to have recruited a “independent third party.”
The head football coach of the school is accused of making a bunch of football players perform a lot of pushups.
As the inquiry is ongoing, coach John Harrell has been placed on administrative leave.
