Dallas HS Football Coach Puts Students in Hospital with Push-ups

Several football players at a Texas High School have been hospitalized after being punished with 400 push-ups by their coach.

The head football coach at Rockwall-Heath High School John Harrell has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

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On a lazy Friday afternoon at a high school near Dallas, during the last period of the day, teammates hit the field expecting regular football practice.

However their practice that day was anything but ordinary.

One parent said her son was forced to do about 300 to 400 push-ups as a punishment, without any water, in 1 hour. At the end of practice that Friday her son and seven others would end up being hospitalized for things ranging from extreme dehydration to rhabdomyolysis.

By Monday, school officials had found out and immediately took steps that they shared with parents in a letter.

"Please know the district immediately implemented measures to address the situation and provide support for our students. 

The district is also taking interim action, including but not limited to, placing Coach Harrell on administrative leave while the investigation is pending and notifying appropriate outside agencies. 

District administrators and campus personnel have been in contact with the affected families and student-athletes,” the letter read, according to the Dallas Morning News.

For comparison, a duo of greek fitness enthusiasts has set a world record for the number of tandem pushups they did.

Maybe Coach Harrell should move to Greece to coach football.

nico@klaq.com