Another Former TLCA Coach Arrested Over Pushup Incident

SAN ANGELO, TX — Another former TLCA San Angelo coach has been arrested for his involvement in the school’s pushup scandal that sent 20 students to the hospital.

Brandon Richardson was arrested early Friday morning after he was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury on charges of injury to a child and abandoning or endangering a child.

Richardson is one of five defendants in the case, along with the school’s former athletic director, Kent Sherrill, and former head football coach, Bradley Oh. Emmanuel Serna and Stetsen Emfinger have also been charged. Emfinger appears to be the only who hasn’t been booked yet.

The arrests are related to a February incident in which TLCA coaches punished athletes by having them do hundreds of pushups.

According to a lawsuit that was filed against the school by 12 families, Oh ordered about 80 students to perform continuous, whistle-driven push-ups for an entire class period — roughly 45 minutes or more — without water, rest or breaks. 

Students estimated they completed between 300 and 420 push-ups while five coaches walked among them, allegedly berating any child who showed signs of fatigue. 

The following day, students allegedly returned to school in agony, many unable to raise their arms to eat, brush their teeth or dress themselves, the lawsuit says. Despite this, coaches required them to continue the push-ups for two more days. 

Twenty children were taken to the hospital, and many of them were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition caused by rapid skeletal muscle breakdown that can lead to kidney and organ damage, the lawsuit stated.

Shannon Medical Center staff notified Child Protective Services and law enforcement.

Each charge the coaches are facing — there are eight charges total — carry a maximum sentence of two years in a state jail facility.