Coach John Harrell was named head football coach in Rockwall Heath a year ago, after being a coach in the school’s football program since 2019. The Rockwall, TX coach has now been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is underway.

We all know football rules here in Texas, and this situation has folks online split. Is this a case of tough love and discipline or something more?

FOX News 4 is reporting that in a letter sent to parents, the school said the punishment happened on Friday. The letter didn’t clarify how many pushups the students had to perform, but a person who emailed the news station "it was several hundred assigned as punishment."

The letter went on to say that several of the athletes ended up needing medical attention and "some" were hospitalized.

Brady Luff, a captain on the football team is sticking up for his coach and the kids who wound up in the hospital. He insists the coach was instilling discipline.

"I’m praying for all the sides that are in the hospital. They’re my brothers. He’s treated us with nothing but respect and he loves every single one of us like his own," Luff said.

His mother also defended the coach to FOX 4:

"So, if anything was going on with this situation that I thought these kids were being harmed, I would’ve been the first person up at the principal’s office or wherever I need to go to have this shut down," Stephanie Luff said.

It’s still uncertain how many students were hospitalized, and the district did not respond for a statement. We'' see how this one plays out.

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