After a workout in which a Texas high school football coach made players do 300 to 400 pushups in a period of an hour with no water breaks, multiple students were hospitalized, and the coach was placed on administrative leave, according to the Dallas Morning News.
A letter from the Rockwall-Heath principal obtained by the news outlet confirmed that head football coach John Harrell was placed on leave after the workout in the eighth-period athletic class he teaches. The letter stated that several students “needed medical attention, and in some cases, hospitalization.”
One parent who spoke to the news outlet said her son did 300 to 400 pushups, while two different parents said the number was more than 350.
Parents cited at least eight hospitalizations, including one to a kid who was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of damaged muscle that can lead to kidney damage or failure and other severe outcomes.
Harrell has been at Rockwall-Heath since 2019 and was promoted to head coach in January 2022. In his first season at the helm, the team went 7-5.