A parent is suing her son’s former Texas high school football coach and a dozen assistant coaches after she says her son was pushed over his limit and ended up in the hospital. According to the lawsuit, in January 2023, the staff ordered the Rockwall-Heath High School players to complete nearly 400 push-ups in under an hour as a penalty for infractions seen during an off-season practice.
The lawsuit filed last month, almost two years later, said days after the workout, 26 players were taken to the hospital where they were diagnosed or showing symptoms of rhabdomyolysis. The Cleveland Clinic describes the condition as a “rare muscle injury where your muscles break down … a life-threatening condition that can happen after an injury or excessive exercise without rest.” The clinic says it “can cause kidney damage.”
Mike Sawicki, the attorney representing the parent suing the coaching staff, said the former head coach John Harrell had a responsibility to take care of the players.
“The problem here is that this is a real, potential harm,” Sawicki said. “This is not, I stubbed my toe or this is not I’m a little winded after running some sprints. This is a potentially long-term, life-affecting injury, and it’s not something you’re just going to tough out.”
An investigation commissioned by the Rockwall Independent School District found Harrell did not know about rhabdomyolysis when designing his workout plans. However, once he learned about students being injured, he began researching the condition and notifying his players to seek medical attention.
The school district placed Harrell on administrative leave shortly after the initial allegations came out. He resigned in March 2023, two months later. Some players at the time defended their coach.
“He would never make us do a workout thinking that it was going to put any of us at risk,” Brady Luff, the junior team captain, told WFAA-TV in January 2023.
According to the investigation, players who spoke out about their injuries were being bullied online and there was a concerted effort by some in the football community to discredit them.
The suit is seeking compensation for medical expenses incurred by the injury.
Sawicki said he has settled two other lawsuits against Harrell from parents whose kids were part of the workout. He said this is the first to involve assistant coaches.
The attorney told The Washington Post he does not believe Harrell is an evil person but says he and his coaching staff were responsible for creating a safe program, including knowing about the risks of an excessive workout plan.