Former high school coach accused of forcing students to do 400 push-ups without a break as punishment

A lawsuit has accused former Rockwall-Heath High School head football coach John Harrell and 12 other coaches of negligent discipline following a January 2023 practice that left 26 players injured.
According to a report by a law firm included in the complaint, the 26 student-athletes were diagnosed with or had symptoms of rhabdomyolysis, a muscle condition.
The plaintiff is seeking $250,000 in damages

A mother of a Texas high school student-athlete has filed a lawsuit against her son’s former head football coach and 12 other coaches, alleging they administered punishments during a January 2023 practice that resulted in the injury of 26 of players.

According to a complaint filed Monday, Dec. 23, in the 439th District Court of Rockwall County, according Dallas Morning News and seen later by PEOPLE, John Harrell, the former Rockwall-Heath High School head football coach, was among 13 named defendants accused of negligent discipline.

The complaint alleged that the student-athlete suffered serious injuries as a result of the alleged punishments meted out by coaches at Rockwall-Heath High School during practice.

The complaint also noted that the Rockwall Independent School District hired the law firm of Adams, Lynch and Loftin PC, (AL&L) to investigate the coaches’ alleged actions after several student-athletes were hospitalized for rhabdomyolysis — described by the Cleveland Clinic as a condition in which muscles break down, possibly leading to muscle death and kidney damage.

According to AL&L’s investigative report, as stated in the complaint, approximately 26 student-athletes were diagnosed with or had symptoms of rhabdomyolysis.

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The parents told him Dallas Morning News at the time of the alleged incident, the players were required to do between 300 and 400 push-ups in an hour and without water breaks.

The floats, according to the complaint, served as a form of punishment for infractions such as “improper attire,” “negative attitude and interactions with coaches and teammates” and “not ‘the process.’ “

The complaint also said, based on the investigative report, that coaches were warned “not to use exercise as a form of punishment.” The report included an email from Russ Reeves, director of athletics for the Rockwall Independent School District, advising coaches that such actions “…can lead to major legal problems and consequences…”

Mike Sawicki, an attorney representing the student-athlete’s mother and who provided PEOPLE with a copy of the complaint and the AL&L report, told the Fox affiliate. KDFW that Harrell wrote the program that said any offense would lead to push-ups as a form of punishment.

“The issue here is that this is real, potential harm,” Sawicki told KDFW. “This isn’t, ‘I stubbed my toe’ or ‘I’m a little exhausted after running some sprints.’ This is a potentially long-term, life-affecting injury and it’s not something you just have to endure.”

The complaint accused Harrell of disciplinary negligence, saying he should have known that ordering the student “to perform excessive exercise without water or rest would result in injury.”

Harrell was also accused in the lawsuit of failing to monitor student safety during discipline, failing to protect children under his supervision during practice and ignoring instructions from the athletic director not to use “physical punishment” as a form of discipline.

According to the AL&L report, as noted in the complaint, the student-athletes and their parents were reluctant to come forward after a “whisper campaign” began against them.

Harrell resigned as head football coach at Rockwall-Heath in March 2023 after being placed on administrative leave, KDFW reported, adding that no criminal charges have been filed.

Sawicki, who represents the plaintiff, said Dallas Morning News that efforts to settle the case out of court were unsuccessful, leading to the filing of the lawsuit.

“The defendants have refused to make any effort to resolve the case,” Sawicki told the paper. “The two-year statute of limitations is coming up in January, and I haven’t been able to get a response from them about settling the case without filing a lawsuit.”

PEOPLE reached out to an attorney representing Harrell on Thursday, Dec. 26. Harrell earlier declined to comment when contacted by the Dallas Morning News.

Read the original article on People