According to a report produced by a law firm contained in the complaint, the 26 student-athletes were diagnosed with or had symptoms of rhabdomyolysis, a muscle condition
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 a complaint filed on Monday, Dec. 23, in Rockwall County's 439th State District Court, according to the Dallas Morning News and later seen by PEOPLE, John Harrell, the former head football coach of Rockwall-Heath High School was among 13 people named as defendants accused of negligent discipline.
The complaint alleged that the student-athlete sustained serious injuries as a result of the alleged punishments handed down by the Rockwall-Heath High School coaches during the workout.
The complaint also noted that the Rockwall Independent School District hired the law firm of Adams, Lynch and Loftin P.C., (AL&L) to investigate the coaches' alleged actions after several student-athletes were hospitalized for rhabdomyolysis -- described by the Cleveland Clinic as a condition in which the muscles break down, possibly leading to muscle death and kidney damage.
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 the Dallas Morning News at 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 affiliate KDFW that 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 the Dallas Morning News that 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."
PEOPLE contacted an attorney representing Harrell on Thursday, Dec. 26. Harrell earlier declined to comment when reached by the Dallas Morning News.