ASU hockey coach is put on leave; hospitalized player is unlikely to recover, family attorney says

Arizona State University announced Wednesday it has put hockey coach Greg Powers on leave following the collapse of player Matthew Mayich during a summer team workout. Mayich, 21, remains on life support and is unlikely to recover, according to family attorney Rob Carey.

In response to the announcement, Carey said in an interview with NBC Nightly News that the family has said “since day one” that the entire coaching staff needed to be put on administrative leave. ASU has left in place another assistant coach who is good friends with the head coach “and that needs to change,” the attorney said.

“They did nothing right, literally nothing,” Carey said of the ASU coaching staff during the workout. “And as a result (of) what should have been a very preventable workout problem, heatstroke, a man is on life support and unlikely to come off of it,” he said.

“He’s incapacitated, and there’s almost no chance of recovery. But the family’s very devout, and they want to give their son a chance for a miracle,” Carey said.

ASU did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on the family’s allegations and demands for an independent investigation.

But in its announcement on Powers’ leave, ASU Athletics Director Graham Rossini stated that the school’s “focus continues to be on Matthew and his family” and all student-athletes, to make sure they have “the support they need during this time and as the season begins.”

“We have continued to collect as much information as possible. After thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program,” Rossini said.

Assistant Coach Mike Corbett will be leading the team this weekend for the season opener and an interim head coach would be named soon, according to the statement.

Mayich collapsed during an outdoor workout on Aug. 20. He suffered extreme heatstroke and has been hospitalized since his collapse.

Mayich’s parents, John and Christina Mayich, and seven other players from the hockey team called on Tuesday for coaches involved to be placed on leave and for an independent investigation.

The seven players, who did not share their names, submitted through their attorney a letter to ASU President Michael Crow disputing the school’s account of what occurred.

In the letter, the players said they were afraid of being retaliated against because the coaches “decide our playing time, scholarship levels, and roster status.”

Although Carey said putting Powers on leave is a step in the right direction, he said there are players whose safety remains at risk and “retaliation is still possible.”

The athletes’ 26-page letter describes a workout session led by Tim Ziesel, an Army veteran and former Green Beret, on a day the afternoon high temperature was 104 degrees and the low was 74, according National Weather Service data. The players alleged in their letter that Zeisel left before Mayich collapsed.

According to the players, the workout did not include required emergency gear on site, including a tub of water for cooling off and a training plan had not been submitted to all the coaches.

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In its report, ASU said temperatures were between 86 and 89 degrees during the workout, with relative humidity between 51% and 46%. The ASU report also stated that an athletic trainer evaluated Mayich’s condition, put cool water and iced towels on him and told him to stay down; he then called 911 and directed student-athletes to help move him to the shade.

Buddy Rake, Ziesel’s attorney, said Ziesel has offered to meet privately with Mayich’s family “and thinks a full and complete investigation should be done. “

“You have to find out what caused this. At the same time this workout is occurring, there’s probably 5,000 high school athletes in Arizona doing the same workout and nothing happens to them. So either the protocol is wrong, or there’s something else that happened,” Rake said.

The players’ letter alleges the university’s temperature and humidity figures “understate conditions on the field.”

The players noted that Mayich was new to Arizona, having been in the area for only eight days and having been involved in the hockey program for five. Drafted by the St. Louis Blues, Mayich is from Hamilton, Ontario, according to the NHL.

The players said that Mayich got no water during a break that lasted only seconds, because he was one of several players who did not reach the water on time before they were “pushed directly into the next task.”

The players said Powers characterized Mayich’s condition after his collapse as “just a little heat stroke” of the type he has seen before, according to their letter.

Carey said putting staff on leave and hiring an outside investigator is fundamental when things such as this occur.

In an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Company earlier this month, Mayich’s mother, Christina, said her son “was so excited to come to ASU — he said the facilities are even better live, because we watch it on YouTube and pictures and he just said it’s exciting.”

She said they’re taking her son’s situation “day by day.”

“Anybody who could send prayers for Matthew, it would be greatly appreciated because right now that’s what we need,” Christina Mayich said.