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Eight Texas high school students are hospitalized after their coach forced them to perform 400 push-ups in an hour without water breaks as punishment
- Rockwall-Heath High School head football coach John Harrell was placed on administrative leave after practice Friday.
- Eight soccer players were hospitalized after being forced to do 300 to 400 push-ups in an hour.
- Parents claim students were forced to do the strenuous exercise with breaks
- The Dallas-based school has launched an investigation into the incident.
- Harrell was promoted to head coach in January 2022 and has been with the school since 2019.
Eight Texas high school students have been hospitalized after their football coach forced them to do 400 push-ups in an hour without a break.
Rockwall-Heath High School football head coach John Harrell has been placed on administrative leave after he reportedly forced students to do 300 to 400 push-ups during an eighth period track class on friday.
A mother, who did not want to be named, said the soccer players were forced to do the intense training without water breaks, according to Fox 4 News.
She said her son was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, the breakdown of muscle tissue that can release harmful proteins into the bloodstream, which can cause kidney damage or failure.
It is unclear what the other seven students were diagnosed with. None of the players’ identities have been released.
Rockwall-Heath High School head football coach John Harrell was placed on administrative leave after practice Friday.
Eight football players were hospitalized after being forced to do between 300 and 400 push-ups in an hour. Parents claim that students were forced to do the strenuous exercise without breaks.
Principal Todd Bradford addressed the situation Monday, writing in a letter to parents of student athletes: “On Monday, January 9, 2023, multiple parents reported that their students needed medical attention and, in some cases, hospitalization. Please know that the District immediately implemented measures to address the situation and provide support for our students.
He also advised parents to tell their students to see the coach if they cannot “bend or extend their arms, cannot raise their arms above their heads, dark urine (the color of tea or cola), and sharp pain in arm”. as well as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, confusion, or lethargy.
“Student safety is a top priority for Rockwall IDS and we will continue to take immediate and appropriate action in the best interest of our students as we address this situation,” the letter said.
The Dallas-based school also launched a third-party investigation into the incident, saying the students who attended the class Monday did a light, non-strenuous workout.
Despite the scary situation, some of the players defended Harrell, saying that he was not trying to harm the students, but to teach them discipline.
The Dallas-based school launched an investigation into the incident and warned students to see the school’s coach if they have trouble extending or raising their arms or have dark-colored urine.
Player Barry Luff, who was in training, told Fox 4 News: “He has treated us with nothing but respect and loves each one of us like his own.”
Luff also said WFAA that Harrell was at the hospital “all night with those guys” to make sure they were okay.
“He would never make us exercise thinking it would put any of us at risk,” he told the outlet.
His mother also defended the coach, saying that he “would have been the first person to get to the principal’s office” if she thought something was wrong.
Harrell was promoted to head coach in January 2022 and has been with the school since 2019.