Lawyer: Phoenix PD should probe ASU hockey player's collapse — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Rob Carey, attorney for Mayich's family, sent a Sept. 4 letter to ASU's general counsel requesting the campus police department hand the probe to Phoenix police and gave the school until Friday to respond or the family would petition Phoenix PD directly.
- Carey argued that 'even a flawless investigation by ASUPD would be met with the objection that the University investigated itself,' and proposed the Arizona Attorney General's Office or Arizona Department of Public Safety as backups if Phoenix PD declined.
- Matthew Mayich collapsed Aug. 20 during an offseason workout led by former Green Beret Tim Ziesel and has been hospitalized in critical condition, with Carey's letter stating he is 'unlikely to recover' after suffering exertional heat stroke that reduced oxygen flow to his brain.
- Temperatures had reached 90 degrees during the morning workout, per the National Weather Service, while Ziesel's attorney Buddy Rake compared the session to 'a medium preseason high school workout' and said his client supports 'an investigation and complete transparency.'
- The Professional Hockey Players' Association issued a statement calling for a thorough investigation into 'the recent tragedy in collegiate hockey' and protection from retaliation, with executive director Brian Ramsay saying the player was 'failed by the system.'
- Mayich played four seasons with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League, transferred to ASU after one season at Clarkson University, and was a sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Why it matters: The family has set a Friday deadline for ASU to act or they'll petition Phoenix police themselves, while a major professional hockey union has now publicly backed their call, converting what began as an internal university matter into a nationally scrutinized fight over self-investigation. Mayich, drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2023, remains hospitalized in critical condition with his attorney saying recovery is unlikely.
Ask SkimNews
