Rockwall Heath HS football coach takes leave after push-up punishment

ROCKWALL, Texas – A high school football coach in Rockwall County has been suspended after some players required medical attention after practice.

Rockwall Heath High School principal said steps are being taken to determine exactly what happened.

The school district said it had hired an “independent third party” to investigate the incident.

The head football coach of the school is accused of forcing a group of football players to do a large number of push-ups.

Coach John Harrell has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is underway.

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In a letter to parents, the school said the incident occurred on Friday during the off-season football program.

It didn’t say how many push-ups the students were supposed to do, but the person who emailed FOX 4 said several hundred were given as punishment.

The school said several athletes required medical attention and “some” were hospitalized.

The letter did not mention how many people ended up in the hospital, and did not specify what happened to the students.

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Coach Harrell was named head football coach at Rockwall Heath a year ago. He has been the coach of the school’s football program since 2019.

He has also coached other programs in North Texas.

Last Monday, the school’s sports coach sent messages to the families of the players in this off-season program.

The trainer advised to watch for symptoms such as sharp pain in the arm and stomach problems.

The county said it had contacted affected families and athletes.