ASU Investigates Overpowering Workout Incident Involving Hockey Player

Arizona State University has initiated an inquiry into a strenuous team workout that left hockey player Matthew Mayich incapacitated. Family attorney Rob Carey appeared on ‘Fox & Friends First’, sharing incident details and demanding accountability from athletic officials.

Seven Arizona State Sun Devils hockey players have formally requested the university’s president to place their head coach, Greg Powers, and his staff on administrative leave. This follows a workout that resulted in a teammate being placed on life support and in a coma in August.

The players communicated their concerns in a detailed 26-page letter through their attorney. They have expressed fear of retaliation from Coach Powers and urged Arizona State University president Michael Crow to place the team’s coaching staff on leave, according to ‘The Athletic’.

The players are disputing ASU’s initial review of the August 20 workout, which led to sophomore Matthew Mayich collapsing. The review highlighted a lack of proper hydration and inadequate medical attention after Mayich’s collapse.

“The head coach and his assistant coaches were all on the field on August 20, all remain in their positions, and together they decide our playing time, scholarship levels, and roster status,” the players stated in the letter. “No one has separated us from them since that morning.”

They emphasized the difficulty of choosing between truthful reporting and retaining their sports opportunities.

The players claimed a military-style workout was conducted by an ex-U.S. Army Green Beret, noting significant discrepancies in water break allocations. An official review stated a water break occurred around 20 minutes in, but players contest that it happened much later. They assert it lasted just seconds and was insufficient for everyone.

“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 detailed. “This was the only water break.”

The ex-Green Beret reportedly admitted to forgetting the need for a water break, citing that he often went without water during combat missions.

Mayich signaled distress early in the workout, displaying disorientation during a bear crawl, and struggled with a partner exercise.

The players criticize ASU’s monitoring during the workout, asserting no intervention took place. When Mayich collapsed, players state he lay in direct sunlight for minutes, contradicting the university’s findings that claimed he sat upright twice.

Cooling efforts reportedly involved only towels, water from bottles, and a garden hose, despite August’s extreme Arizona heat.

“Matthew spent most of his ‘off’ time in his air-conditioned apartment because the heat was too oppressive for him,” the players described Mayich, originally from Ontario. Previous outdoor workouts typically lasted around 15 minutes before moving inside.

Coach Powers declined comment on the incident, citing the tumultuous period for the program. Players claim Powers referred to Mayich’s condition as a “little heat stroke” and minimized the situation when speaking to the team.

The Sun Devils’ upcoming season is set to begin this Friday against Lindenwood.

Scott Thompson, a sports writer for Fox News Digital, contributed to the reporting of this incident.