photo courtesy of Rockwall ISD
Texas’ Rockwall-Heath High School football coach has been suspended after allegedly forcing his players to partake in a strenuous workout so severe that some players ended up in the hospital following the eighth-period athletic class. According to the Dallas Morning News, the January 6 incident involved head coach John Harrall making teenage students have to do an exorbitant amount of push-ups in a 60-minute time frame without breaks.
A mother of a hospitalized student told the outlet that Harrell had her son do over 300 push-ups, which resulted in the boy being diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis after being restricted from getting water breaks. The condition is defined as occurring when “damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood,” and it can even “damage the heart and kidneys and cause permanent disability or even death.”
Eight students in total had to go to the hospital after Harrall ordered them to do the workout. Rockwall-Heath’s principal announced that Harrall, a staff member of 4 years, has been put on administrative leave and is being investigated for his culpability in what happened.
Rockwall-Heath’s announcement read, “Please know the district immediately implemented measures to address the situation and provide support for our students. To thoroughly investigate any connection between the activities in class and student illnesses, the district is retaining an independent third party to investigate the event.’
“The district is also taking interim action, including but not limited to placing Coach Harrell on administrative leave while the investigation is pending and notifying appropriate outside agencies. District administrators and campus personnel have been in contact with the affected families and student-athletes.”
A football player for Harrell admitted that he didn’t think his coach had ill intentions. He began, “I’m praying for all the dudes that are in the hospital. They’re my brothers,” He argued that nobody was forced to participate, though and that they all had access to water.
“He’s treated us with nothing but respect, and he loves every single one of us like his own.”
Rockwall-Heath High School has a student population of around 2,500 and is rated as the 241st best in the state of Texas. It is, however, a school that’s praised for its diversity, with 44.6% of its students being a minority, 11.5 % of which are Black.