High school football coaches who forced players to do up to 400 pushups during hellish practices that injured 26 students and sent eight to hospital are being sued.
Rockwall-Heath head coach John Harrell and 12 of his assistants are accused of ordering more and more exercise to punish students for minor infractions.
Valencia Smith, whose son was hospitalized after the practices in January 2023, filed the $250,000 lawsuit in the Texas 439th State District Court.
The 26 players developed rhabdomyolysis - the breakdown of muscle tissue that can release damaging proteins into the bloodstream, causing kidney damage or failure.
Harrell was put on administrative leave after the workouts, and and resigned in March 2023 after an investigation by outside law firm Adams, Lynch, and Loftin.
The report, commissioned by the Rockwall Independent School District and frequently referred to in the lawsuit, found Harrell went against guidance from athletic director Russ Reeves not to use exercise as punishment.
Reeves warned this 'can lead to major legal issues and consequences'.
Rockwall-Heath head coach John Harrell and 12 of his assistants are accused of ordering more and more exercise to punish students for minor infractions.
The 26 players developed rhabdomyolysis - the breakdown of muscle tissue that can release damaging proteins into the bloodstream, causing kidney damage or failure.
Parents said at the time that players were forced to do more than a dozen extra pushups for even the smallest mistakes.
They included wearing the wrong clothes, being late, making a mistake in practice, having a negative attitude, and not showing enough 'hustle' and effort.
The lawsuit claimed Harrell and his assistants negligently failed to monitor the health of their players, leading to their injuries.
Players, it claimed, were afraid to come forward due to a 'whisper campaign' and the injured students had their 'manhood' mocked online by locals.
Messages between coaches recovered by the report blamed the players for causing their injuries by abusing nutritional supplements - despite there being no medical basis for this claim.
Other messages revealed organized efforts to undermine the students and their parents and prevent them from getting help and treatment, the report claimed.
The report found the entire team was often forced to do additional pushups after a teammate made a mistake, instead of just the one student.
Many of the players had swelling and dark-colored urine, symptoms consistent with rhabdomyolysis after the practice.
Water was available to drink, but few players drank from it during practice as they knew it would make them appear weak, the report found.
The report said Harrell would have known being forced to 'perform excessive exercise without water or rest would result in injury'.
It did not accuse Harrell of deliberately causing injury, but ruled he recklessly endangered the health of his athletes and violated the Educators Code of Ethics.
None of the students were responsible for their injuries, the report found.
Smith's lawsuit claimed her son was one of those taken to hospital, and he was still receiving treatments for the condition almost two years later.
Her son was at the January 6, 2023, workout and afterwards many of the players had swelling and dark-colored urine, symptoms consistent with rhabdomyolysis.
The lawsuit claimed Smith’s lawyers spent almost the whole two-year statute of limitations trying to negotiate a settlement and had no choice but to sue.
Harrell insisted the punishments were handed out by his assistants, not him, while he was indoors at the weight room.
Two lawsuits by other parents were settled last year for undisclosed sums, but lawyers said Harrell’s insurance company refused to pay this time, prompting the lawsuit.
Harrell insisted the punishments were handed out by his assistants, not him, while he was indoors at the weight room.
'Instead of resolving the matter, Plaintiff included all of the coaches, some of whom were not even present at the practice in question, as defendants,' Harrell's lawyer Meredith Walker said.
'Mr Harrell sees this as nothing more than an attempt to overcome the liability limits in the Texas Education Code.'
Walker claimed Harrell was covered by laws giving school employees immunity for acts in accordance with their duties.
However, this protection doesn't stand if staff used excessive force in disciplining students or negligence that results in injury to students.
Smith said he son's medical bills exceeded $250,000.
the other coaches named in the lawsuit were Chadrick President, Lucas Lucero, Joshua Rohmer, Seth McBride, Cody Monson, Chance Casey, Jake Rogers, Joseph Haag, Brody Trahan, Garret Campfield, Alex Contreras,and Jordan Wallace.