Arizona lawmakers demand independent investigation into ASU hockey workout that left player in coma
As seven anonymous Arizona State Sun Devils hockey players called for their coaching staff to be placed on administrative leave, the House and Senate education chairs have also called for an independent investigation into the team’s workout that left a player hospitalized, still fighting for his life in a coma.
Matthew Mayich remains on life support after an Aug. 20 workout in the blazing Arizona heat left him unconscious, and far worse than the players who wrote a 26-page letter that said they were initially told by head coach Greg Powers and the staff.
On Monday, House Education Committee Chairman Matt Gress and Senate Education Committee Chairman Hildy Angius called on the Arizona Board of Regents to retain an independent investigator to examine the workout.
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In a letter sent on Monday to Board Chairman Doug Goodyear, Gress and Angius cited unresolved questions about whether the school followed its own policies and allegations from the anonymous players, who all fear retaliation by the current staff for speaking up about their account of the incident.
Arizona State conducted an initial review, which acknowledged the hockey team’s staff didn’t submit a plan of training activities as part of the investigation. Also, the review’s findings were that Mayich didn’t receive proper hydration and had inadequate medical care after collapsing.
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"Seven players who were on that field have raised serious questions that ASU’s own review does not answer," Gress said in a press release. "We need an independent investigation to determine whether ASU followed its own rules, who was responsible for protecting these athletes, and what happened when Matthew Mayich showed signs of distress. ASU should not be left to investigate its own conduct and decide whether anyone should be held accountable."
The lawmakers are asking the Board of Regents to figure out who authorized the workout, which the players said was led by an ex-U.S. Army Green Beret, as well as "whether required vetting and heat-safety procedures were followed, why ASU’s strength and conditioning professionals did not review the workout, and why the final exercise proceeded after the outside consultant left."
They also wish to have protection against retaliation for student-athletes and witnesses in this case.
"Student-athletes should never have to choose between telling the truth and protecting their scholarship, roster spot, or playing time," Angius said. "If players fear retaliation for speaking about what happened to a teammate, the Regents need to act. They should protect these students and appoint an investigator who answers to the Board, not ASU."
A response by Gress and Angius was requested from the Board of Regents by Oct. 9.
In the 26-page letter from the players, which was obtained by The Athletic, the players said they were put through a "grueling" workout by the Green Beret that day, but while the ASU review said players were given a water break about 20 minutes into the workout, that wasn’t the case, they claimed.
They said that the water break was around 40 minutes into the 75-minute activity, but it was just a few seconds. The players added that only about eight players actually drank water because they were the first to finish a bear crawl drill beforehand.
"The first of us to finish had a few seconds at the bottles before being ordered back while others, including Matthew, were still crawling," the players’ letter read. "This was the only water break."
The players also wrote that the ex-Green Beret admitted forgetting they needed a water break, but added he didn’t drink water during combat missions.
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As for Mayich, a draft pick of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, the players wrote that their teammate showed signs of distress early on in the workout, saying he started to become disoriented during the bear crawl. Also, he was unable to carry a teammate during a buddy carry exercise.
"No one at ASU properly monitored him during the workout and no one intervened," the letter read.
When Mayich eventually collapsed, the players claim he remained in direct sunlight for several minutes, which contradicts Arizona State’s report stating he sat upright twice. The players say that Mayich needed to be carried into the shade by his teammates.
As for cooling him down, the players said the only things available were towels from a cooler, water from the bottles and a garden hose. This was in Arizona heat, which in August regularly sits somewhere in triple digits.
"Matthew spent most of his ‘off’ time in his air-conditioned apartment because the heat was too oppressive for him," the players wrote about the Ontario native. The players also noted that outdoor workouts prior to Aug. 20 last around 15 minutes before going back inside.
Powers was asked earlier this month about the incident, but he didn’t speak due to the "difficult time" it has been for the program. Players, though, said their head coach downplayed Mayich’s condition when initially speaking to them about it. They said that he simply suffered a "little heat stroke," while adding they were "closer to making the Frozen Four because of the workout…"
"From what we could tell, at no point did Coach Powers seem to appreciate the severity of the situation," the players’ letter added.