A high school football program in Arkansas is accused of ignoring the school’s athletic trainer. He or she chose to resign from his or her position at Lakeside High School because of the concerning trend.
The coaches do not listen to the medical staffers.
This issue does not only apply to high school football coaches in Arkansas. This is a nationwide problem.
What is Wet Bulb Globe Temperature?
As the summer continue to get hotter across the world, high school football programs are required to adhere to a specific set of rules regarding practice to prevent heat illness. The rules are set by the Arkansas Activities Association.
Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is, essentially, a way to measure how hot it really feels to your body when you are outside. This is different from the “real feel” on weather apps. It considers temperature, humidity, sunlight and wind, and how those factors affect your body’s ability to cool itself through sweating. A higher WBGT leads to a greater risk of overheating and/or heat illness.
The Arkansas Activities Association’s WGBT thresholds and practice rules are listed as follow:
- Below 82.0º F: Normal activities and regular practice guidelines apply.
- 82.0º – 86.9º: Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise; monitor vulnerable players closely and provide frequent rest breaks.
- 87.0º – 89.9º: Maximum length of participation and practice is capped at two hours.
- 90.0º – 92.0º: Maximum length of participation and practice is capped at one hour.
- Above 92.0º: No outdoor workouts are allowed. Practices must be delayed until conditions cool or move indoors if facilities permit.
The Arkansas Activities Association requires all official football activities — including summer workouts, 7-on-7s and team camps — to follow these heat safety thresholds. An initial violation of the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature rules can lead to administrative penalties, warnings, or sanctions. Additional violations can lead to probation, fines, suspensions and/or an automatic game loss.
This is not only the case in Arkansas. It has also created a unique practice conundrum in Kansas, as well as other states. Some coaches are choosing to ignore the rules— and the advice of their athletic trainers. That extends beyond the WGBT concerns.
Arkansas high school football coaches often override athletic trainers.
Lakeside High School is located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It enrolls approximately 1,100 students in Grades 9-12. The Rams are one of the top-ranked high school football teams in the state in Class 5A. They won 10 games in each of the last two seasons.
Now, as the focus shifts toward 2026, Lakeside sits at 1-1 with a win over Lake Hamilton and a loss to Jonesboro. The school is also without its athletic trainer. He or she resigned from his or her position, effective immediately.
The decision stems from a lack of authority. The coaching staff and administration does not adhere to his or her recommendations. He or she sent the following email to express his or her concerns and to announce his or her immediate resignation:
Effective immediately, I am resigning from my position at Lakeside School District.
I’ve spent the last ten years building Lakeside Sports Medicine into something that I think has a lot of value. One of the most important things is the set of policies that were written in 2018 by a panel of physicians, ATs, PTs, and coaches that I put together. With their implementation, we became one of two Arkansas high schools (Cabot being the other) with a true medical model:
“The Lakeside sports medicine staff, under the direction of team physicians, will have final say on all athlete participation statuses.”
Without that policy, ATs still have medical decision making capability, but with it, we were to become much more streamlined and efficient. Time and time again, the policy has been disregarded. I’ve had to document multiple times that mine and Dr. Byrd’s decisions were overruled by school administration.
Recently, I experienced football coaches disregarding the wet bulb heat rules. They also bypassed multiple medical clearance decisions that I made. I reported these things to administration. Instead of putting the coaches in their place, explaining that medical decisions belong to the medically licensed individuals, administration criticized me. I have been informed that the wet bulb rules will no longer be strictly enforced at Lakeside. I have also been told to not confront any coach that bypasses my medical decisions. These things are not acceptable. Principals do not dictate the medical decision making of the school nurse. Similarly, coaches and administration do not dictate the medical decision making of athletic trainers.
With me being the head of the AATA Secondary Schools Committee, which is supposed to be leading the way in increased reporting of WBGT, concussion, medical clearance, and other violations at high schools, this has all put me in a terrible position.
Numerous times in the past, my licensing board, overseeing physician, and state association have recommended that I resign from Lakeside during such issues. This time, I’m following their direction.
My keys, work cell, laptop, and school apparel are in my classroom.
Thank you.
— (former) Lakeside School District athletic trainer, via @stephkuzy/X
Lakeside is not the only school where this happens. Many high school football coaches choose not to adhere to the advice of their medical team. They do only what sets them up best for victory. Winning is more important than health.
In this specific instance, it became too much. It became too frequent. The athletic trainer at Lakeside High Schoold had enough.