Navy SEAL who led Tufts workout that hospitalized 9 athletes with rhabdo lacked expertise, review finds
MEDFORD - The Navy SEAL who led the Tufts men's lacrosse team through a workout in September that sent nine to the hospital with rhabdomyolysis lacked credentials for group exercise, according to an independent report released Friday. The report recommended that the university enact stricter protocols for workouts moving forward.
Sixty-one students, including the men's lacrosse team and two other students, participated in the "voluntary" workout led by the former Tufts lacrosse team equipment manager and recent Navy SEAL graduate, according to the report. Of the 61 students who participated in the "unusually intense," 24 of them developed rhabdomyolysis, and nine of them were sent to the hospital.
The review states that the Navy SEAL's lack of proper credentials and Tuft's lack of a plan for the transportation of students to hospitals led to a dangerous scenario that could have been avoided. The report was independently completed by sports medicine consultant Rod Walters and attorney Randy Aliment.
"Not exercise-science-based" workout
"The Navy SEAL Workout did not follow principles of acclimatization that are necessary to avoid injury during training," the report states. "The Navy SEAL Workout was not exercise-science based, physiologically sport-specific, or tailored to the individual sport of lacrosse."
The review stated that the Navy Seal who led the workout declined to be interviewed, though others in the investigation were cooperative. The review does not name the Navy Seal, and the university declined to do so. The Associated Press sent several emails and left a phone message seeking comment from Navy officials.
Students who participated in the workout were not informed of the exercises or amounts of repetitions they would be required to perform, the review states. Some accounts of the workout said students "performed about 250 burpees and other exercises over the approximately 75-minute workout," and students who struggled with it were taken out to lower their heart rates with slower exercises, it states.
While 40% of participants completed the workout without modification, students began complaining of soreness afterward, the review states. In the coming days, cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis - a potentially life-threatening condition in which muscles break down - were identified, according to the review.
The review concludes that Tufts personnel need a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the future to prevent a similar scenario from happening again. That means "vetting of team workout plans that deviate from those usually employed," it states.
All students have recovered and returned to normal activity, Tufts president Sunil Kumar and athletics director John Morris said in a statement.
However, "it is critical that we understand what led to this situation and to take steps to develop better and safer training practices for our student-athletes," the statement said.
The Tuft's men's lacrosse team is one of the most successful at the Division III level in the nation and won the NCAA championship in 2024 against Rochester Institute of Technology in May.
What is rhabdomyolysis?
Rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo, is a life-threatening condition that occurs after overexertion or injury. It causes muscle tissue to break down into the bloodstream, where it travels to the kidneys.
Symptoms for rhabdo include discoloration of your urine, dehydration, swelling and soreness in your muscles, nausea and loss of consciousness, and decreased urination, a physiologist and anesthesiologist from the Cleveland Clinic told CBS News.
The Cleveland Clinic estimates that the condition impacts around 26,000 people in the United States every year.
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