A lawyer for St. Louis Blues prospect Matthew Mayich is blasting Arizona State University’s handling of the events that led to Mayich collapsing during an offseason workout in Tempe heat, saying the school failed to properly investigate what happened.
Robert Carey told The Arizona Republic that Mayich, who fell into a coma at Sun Angel Stadium on the morning of Aug. 20, has “zero chance of recovery.” Carey also pushed back hard on ASU’s account of the workout, saying the school’s investigation downplayed how punishing it really was.
“My investigation shows the storyline is completely false,” Carey said to The Arizona Republic. “This case has shattered (Mayich’s) life. He deserves, and his family deserves, a proper investigation.”
Per a report from The Athletic, the session Mayich and other members of the Sun Devils men’s hockey program went through was a “military-style workout” led by Tim Zeisel, a non-ASU employee and former military service member, with temperatures just under 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Carey said he spoke with several players who described Zeisel yelling at them like a drill instructor, limiting water for those who worked harder than others, and telling athletes not to complain. The result, Carey said, was a very hostile 50-minute exercise.
Sun Devils head coach Greg Powers had asked Zeisel to run the workout. Zeisel’s attorney, Buddy Rake, said on Aug. 27 that the session only looked like a military exercise and was really about team-building, not something extreme.
“This was not a Green Beret or SEAL workout. Far from it,” Rake said in an interview on Aug.
- “The head coach, assistant coaches and medical were always present.”
The workout was supposed to be the first of three days with Zeisel running the sessions. Carey also said he had no faith in ASU senior vice president James Rund, who was overseeing the school’s investigation.
“The president of the university needs to put out the truth,” Carey said.
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