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Arizona State University has released a new report about the collapse and hospitalization of hockey player Matthew Mayich, revealing no “plan” for the controversial outdoor workout was submitted beforehand.
The workout, held on August 20, was led by former Green Beret Robert Ziesel, who had previously spoken to last year’s Sun Devils hockey team “about topics of leadership and teamwork.”
“The ASU Hockey team coaching staff requested permission for Ziesel to speak to the team but did not submit a plan of training activities for review by ASU’s strength and conditioning coaches prior to the event,” read the report, which was released on Tuesday, September 22.
Mayich, 21, suffered a heat stroke during the workout and has remained hospitalized since. His family’s attorney, Robert Carey, previously claimed he has “zero chance of recovery.”
“All of the student-athletes who participated in the event had been medically cleared for athletics participation prior to the event,” said the report, which was written by James Rund, ASU’s Senior Vice President, Educational Outreach and Student Services. “This included Matthew, who had arrived in Tempe from his home in Canada eight days earlier (on August 12) and been medically cleared by the team physician and the athletic trainer after a pre-participation physical examination.”
Prior to the workout on August 20, the hockey players were allegedly told “in both a meeting and by a written message to rest and hydrate in preparation for the event.”
“ASU Hockey staff ordered short-sleeved, light-colored shirts for them to wear with shorts during the event, and the athletic trainer brought water for the student-athletes to drink as well as a cooler with iced towels,” the report stated. ”A break was taken approximately 20 minutes into the event for the student-athletes to drink water.”
Carey exclusively told Us earlier this month that he’s “confident” Mayich was not offered any water throughout the entire workout.
“Student-athletes completed this wind-down in groups,” the report explained. “Matthew was in one of the later groups to complete this exercise. When running, Matthew appeared to struggle, and then in rapid succession stumbled, dropped the medicine ball, and fell to the ground. He attempted to get up and resume running but fell to his knees.”
The report continued, “The athletic trainer and other student-athletes encouraged Matthew to stay on the ground. The athletic trainer assessed his condition and began applying iced towels and cool water to him. While Matthew was initially responsive, his condition deteriorated. The athletic trainer called 911 and asked for EMS to respond. She directed student-athletes to assist her in moving Matthew to a shady area and continued applying iced towels and water from a hose while waiting for EMS.”
Once EMS arrived on the scene, they “took over care of the student-athlete.”
In response to the incident, Arizona State will “be undertaking a comprehensive review of its practices to identify and implement best practices regarding the planning, conduct and monitoring of athletic activities and the response to emergencies that arise during athletic activities.”
The report also outlined a proposal for “the establishment of a blue-ribbon advisory panel to provide recommendations regarding Sun Devil Athletics’ practices with regard to outdoor athletic activities and the use of outside consultants.”
The Mayich family’s attorney issued a strongly worded statement to Us in response to the report on Wednesday, September 23.
“What the report doesn’t say is what the players will tell you: this was a punishment workout,” Carey claimed. “Miss a count, your group runs again. The head coach set it up, stood there and watched it, and didn’t stop it when the signs were there. And when Matthew went down, there was no plan and no preparation, so he was treated in a way that hurt his chances rather than helped them.”
Carey continued, “The report does settle one thing. The coach said the workout was planned for ninety minutes and cut short at forty-five. ASU’s own timeline has Matthew on that field for more than eighty minutes, in a grueling workout with almost no water, with no acclimation to anything like it, eight days off a plane from Canada, and nobody doing their job on safety or ready for an emergency.”
Arizona State hockey head coach Greg Powers has not spoken publicly about the incident, but he is scheduled to address the media on Wednesday as part of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s preseason media days.
“A month later, nobody’s been named, nobody’s been suspended, nobody’s been fired for violating the very policies ASU published today, and the university wants to appoint a committee,” Carey’s statement concluded. “A committee isn’t going to tell us why grown men with a rulebook in their hands let this happen to a young man at his first real workout in the desert. That’s what an investigation is for, and it’s why we’re going to ask the County Attorney to do one.”
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