The situation surrounding the Arizona State University hockey program has taken a troubling turn after the family of a player who collapsed and later fell into a coma questioned the university’s handling of the incident.
An attorney representing 21-year-old ASU defenseman Matthew Mayich said the player has “zero chance of recovery” and claimed his family does not believe the university can conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation. Attorney Robert Carey said Mayich appeared to be struggling before he eventually collapsed during an outdoor workout at the university. The defenseman “was disoriented and struggled well before he collapsed” at the school’s track, according to Carey. Carey said he spoke with several players who characterized the workout, led by retired Special Forces veteran Tim Ziesel, as “grueling” and “unbearably hard. He also said the former Green Beret “yelled at them from the get-go … like a drill instructor. The account being shared privately by players differs sharply from what he described as an unofficial narrative surrounding the workout, according to Carey. ASU has pushed an unofficial narrative about “how minimal, how soft and how easy” the workout was while players and others have privately reported it as being “unbearably hard,” he said.
