Seven Arizona State men’s hockey players just dropped a bombshell, formally asking ASU President Michael Crow to place the entire Sun Devils coaching staff on administrative leave. These players are absolutely ripping apart the university’s initial review of the August 20 workout that left their teammate, Matthew Mayich, on life support. They say that review got key facts dead wrong and totally dodged accountability. This is heavy, folks.
The Workout That Ended a Player’s Season, And Then Some
This whole nightmare started on August 20, at the team’s first preseason workout at Sun Angel Stadium. Matthew Mayich, a 21-year-old sophomore transfer from Stoney Creek, Ontario, had only been in Arizona for eight days when he collapsed. His family attorney has since stated Mayich suffered an exertional heatstroke that starved his brain of oxygen, and he now has no chance of a meaningful recovery. That’s just brutal.
The seven players, sending their 26-page letter through attorney Tim Casey, are calling out major negligence. They say the workout ran for over 75 minutes, and Mayich never got a single drop of water. They even allege he showed signs of distress way before he collapsed and wasn’t properly cooled down before paramedics even got there. Think about that, folks. The initial review by ASU Senior Vice President James Rund, delivered to Crow on September 21, claimed a water break at 20 minutes. But the players are saying the only break came 35 to 45 minutes in! They say Coach Powers told trainer Tim Ziesel to get water, and Ziesel’s response was, “Oh yeah, I forgot, you guys need water.” Then, only the first eight players to finish a bear crawl reached the bottles, and Mayich was still crawling, so he got nothing. Rund’s report suggested Mayich only struggled during the final medicine-ball relay, but the players insist he was disoriented much, much earlier. Ziesel, a former Green Beret, was reportedly brought in by an ASU booster, and the players point out that ASU policy bars outside consultants from working with athletes without approval. A request to use Ziesel was submitted August 12 without a training plan, and Rund’s report doesn’t even say if it was approved. This is wild.
Anonymous Demands For Justice (And Shane Doan)
This letter wasn’t signed for kicks. The players sent it anonymously, explicitly stating they fear retaliation from Coach Greg Powers and his assistants. Why? Because these coaches “decide our playing time, scholarship levels, and roster status.” Imagine having to choose between your career and telling the truth about your injured teammate. That’s what these guys are facing, writing, “We should not have to choose between telling the truth about August 20 and keeping what we have worked our whole lives for.” About a quarter of the roster signed on, with others sharing concerns but not signing for the same reason. Their attorney, Tim Casey, has “signed attestations” from them all.
They aren’t just blowing off steam, either. They’re demanding: administrative leave for the staff who approved, ran, and supervised the workout, an investigation by an “agency outside the university,” written assurance that no player will be punished for speaking out, and an interim coaching staff during the investigation. And get this: they even named former Coyotes captain Shane Doan as “an excellent candidate” for that interim spot. This is getting real. Arizona’s House and Senate education chairs have already stepped in, asking the Arizona Board of Regents to bring in an independent investigator.
This is far from over. With Arizona’s political power stepping in, and players risking their careers to tell their truth, the pressure is on President Crow and ASU to actually do something right here.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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