Former High School Coach Accused of Forcing Students to Do 400 Push-Ups with No Break as Punishment

Mar. 15, 2025

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 that they doled out punishments during a January 2023 workout that resulted in the injuries of 26 players.

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

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Parents told theDallas Morning Newsat the time of the alleged incident that the players were required to do between 300 to 400 push-ups within an hour and without water breaks.

The pushups, according to the complaint, served as a form of punishment for such infractions as “wrong attire,” “attitude and negative interactions with coaches and peers” and “not ‘hustling.’ ”

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

Mike Sawicki, an attorney representing the mother of the student-athlete, and who provided PEOPLE a copy of the complaint and AL&L’s report, told Fox affiliateKDFWthat Harrell wrote the program that stated any infraction would result in push-ups as a form of punishment.

“The problem here is that this is a real, potential harm,” Sawicki told KDFW. “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.”

The complaint accused Harrell of negligent discipline, stating that 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 suit of not monitoring the student’s safety during the discipline, for failure to safeguard the children under his supervision during the workout, and for ignoring the instructions from the athletic director to not use “physical punishment” as a form of discipline.

According to AL&L’s report, as stated in the complaint, the student-athletes and their parents were hesitant to come forward after a “whisper campaign” started 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 were filed.

Sawicki, who is representing the plaintiff, told theDallas Morning Newsthat efforts to settle the case out of court were unsuccessful, which led to the filing of the lawsuit.

“The defendants declined to make any efforts to resolve the case,” Sawicki told the newspaper. “The two-year statute of limitations is approaching in January, and we were unable to get a response from them about resolving the case without filing suit.”

Harrell’s attorney later shared a statement with PEOPLE on Friday, Dec. 27, on behalf of their client, which read: “At the outset, Mr. Harrell denies any wrongdoing. Additionally, Mr. Harrell’s liability under the Texas Education Code is limited and Plaintiff has failed to take the steps necessary to maintain these claims. Nevertheless, Mr. Harrell attempted to resolve this matter in the spirit of compromise before suit was filed.”

source: people.com