A Texas high school football coach was placed on administrative leave after multiple student-athletes required medical attention following an offseason workout. Some of them had to be hospitalized, as reported by CBS News DFW.
The school district hired an independent third party to investigate the incident involving Rockwall-Heath coach John Harrell. He is accused of leading an athletic class on Jan. 6 in which student-athletes were "required to perform multiple push-ups."
The number of said push-ups has not been released, but FOX 4 reported it was "several hundred assigned as punishment." These were allegedly done during an hour-long period with no breaks or water.
"Student safety is a top priority for Rockwall ISD," Rockwall-Heath principal Todd Bradford said in a statement. "We will continue to take immediate and appropriate measures in the best interests of our students as we address this situation."
Several parents reported three days after the class that their kids needed medical attention. The school sent a letter to parents, but it didn't specify what exactly was wrong with the student-athletes.
CBS News DFW reported that the campus athletic trainer advised students to seek medical attention if they experienced certain issues such as the inability to bend or extend their arms, difficulty lifting their arms over their head, dark urine or sharp arm pain. The campus athletic trainer and nurse also planned to monitored students for other additional symptoms like nausea, vomiting and confusion.
The parent of a student-athlete who was hospitalized told FOX 4 that the players were forced to do 300 push-ups and that their child had been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis -- a serious medical condition that occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood.
