Texas HS football coach is on leave following intense training that hospitalized students
Multiple students were taken to hospital after a Texas high school football coach forced them to do 300-400 pushups in an hour without water breaks. The coach was then placed on administrative leave. Dallas Morning News.
The Rockwall-Heath principal confirmed that John Harrell, head football coach, was put on leave following the workout in the eighth-period sports class he teaches. The letter stated that several students “needed medical attention, and in some cases, hospitalization.”
A parent spoke out to say that her son did between 300 and 400 pushups. Two other parents, however, said it was greater than 350.
Parents reported at least eight hospitalizations to their child, one of which was for rhabdomyolysis. This is a condition that causes muscle damage and can lead to kidney failure or other serious outcomes.
Harrell has been at Rockwall-Heath for over a year and was promoted as head coach in January 2022. The team was 7-5 during his first season at the helm.