ASU hockey coach Powers on leave after workout collapse — SkimNews
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- Arizona State placed hockey coach Greg Powers on paid administrative leave Wednesday, days after seven players sent a Monday letter demanding removal of all staff responsible for an Aug. 20 workout that left teammate Matthew Mayich hospitalized.
- Matthew Mayich has been in the hospital since Aug. 20 with exertional heat stroke that reduced oxygen flow to his brain and is unlikely to recover, according to family attorney Robert Carey.
- Seven players submitted their letter anonymously citing fear of retaliation from Powers and his coaching staff, who control playing time, scholarships, and roster status; they alleged Powers called the collapse "just a little heat stroke" and told players to leave the hospital to avoid drawing "a lot of attention."
- Arizona State's internal review found the coaching staff did not submit a training plan for the Aug. 20 workout and that Green Beret Tim Ziesel, who led the session, did not have a contract with the university.
- Assistant coach Mike Corbett will lead the team for opening games at Lindenwood this weekend while an interim head coach is named, but associate coach Alex Hicks — whom attorney Carey called Powers' "best friend of the last decade" — remains on staff.
- The National Collegiate Hockey Conference backed Arizona State's decision, saying "the well-being of our student-athletes matters more" than hockey.
- Powers, who played for Arizona State in the 1990s and has been head coach since 2010, repeatedly declined to answer reporters' questions about Mayich's collapse at a news conference last week.
Why it matters: Players and Mayich's family argue Powers' leave alone won't protect athletes from retaliation because associate coach Alex Hicks remains in the locker room and controls playing time and scholarships — a concern seven players formally raised by name. With Mayich still hospitalized and unlikely to recover, Arizona State now must decide whether its promised interim head coach gets authority to remove Hicks or whether the program faces a broader reckoning over its coaching culture.
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