Houston, TX – A Texas high school student’s mother has initiated legal action against her son’s previous head football coach and a dozen other coaches, claiming that they imposed punishments during a January 2023 practice that led to injuries affecting 26 players.
A complaint was filed on Monday, Dec. 23, in Rockwall County’s 439th State District Court, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. John Harrell, the former head football coach of Rockwall-Heath High School, is one of 13 individuals named as defendants facing allegations of negligent discipline.
The allegations claimed that the student-athlete suffered significant injuries due to the purported disciplinary actions imposed by the coaches at Rockwall-Heath High School during the training session.
The report highlighted that the Rockwall Independent School District engaged the law firm of Adams, Lynch and Loftin P.C. to look into the coaches’ purported conduct following the hospitalization of multiple student-athletes due to rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition characterized by muscle breakdown that can result in muscle death and kidney damage, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
An investigative report revealed that approximately 26 student-athletes experienced diagnoses or symptoms related to rhabdomyolysis.
At the time of the reported incident, parents informed the Dallas Morning News that the players had to complete between 300 and 400 push-ups in an hour, with no water breaks allowed.
The complaint states that the pushups were used as a disciplinary measure for offenses like “improper clothing,” “negative behavior towards coaches and teammates,” and “lack of effort.”
The allegation further indicated, according to the investigative findings, that coaches received a caution against employing physical exercise as a punitive measure.
Mike Sawicki, an attorney for the mother of the student-athlete, shared with PEOPLE a copy of the complaint and AL&L’s report. He informed Fox affiliate KDFW that Harrell authored the program which indicated that any infraction would lead to push-ups as a punishment method.
The allegation claimed that Harrell failed in his duty to discipline appropriately, asserting that he ought to have recognized that instructing the student to engage in “excessive exercise without water or rest would lead to harm.”
Harrell faced allegations in the lawsuit regarding his lack of oversight concerning the student’s safety during the disciplinary actions, his failure to protect the children in his care during the workout, and his disregard for the athletic director’s directive against employing “physical punishment” as a disciplinary method.
The report from AL&L reveals that, as outlined in the complaint, the student-athletes and their families felt reluctant to speak out following the onset of a “whisper campaign” directed at them.
In March 2023, Harrell stepped down from his position as head football coach at Rockwall-Heath following a period of administrative leave, according to KDFW, which noted that no criminal charges were brought against him.