College hockey team asks for coach to be placed on leave as player was left on life support after workout
A college hockey team has demanded an investigation into the events leading up to their teammate's collapse, following an outdoor workout led by their coach.
Arizona State University hockey player Matthew Mayich collapsed during a workout before being rushed to hospital, where he was placed on life support.
And now, just weeks on from the tragedy, several of his teammates are demanding the coach, Tim Ziesel, be placed on leave while an investigation is carried out.
The anonymous letter claimed that other members of the school’s hockey team share the concerns outlined, but that they did not join their teammates because 'they fear retaliation for publicly speaking the truth'.
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The hockey players jointly wrote: "We are submitting this report anonymously because we fear retaliation from the coaching staff.
"That fear is not directed at one person. 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. No one has separated us from them since that morning."
The attorney representing Mayich's family, Rob Carey, noted that he had suffered a heat stroke and lost oxygen to his brain, and is unlikely to recover.
The players alleged that the session in question lasted for more than 75 minutes, and that a water break was only given '35 to 45' into the workout.
"Exercise was used as punishment," they wrote, as the team further added: "The medicine-ball relays in which Matthew collapsed were run with no one supervising but ASU’s own coaches and athletic trainer."
The hockey team noted that the staff did not appear properly trained to identify heat stroke, as they also said: "The athletic trainer, for example, sat Matthew upright twice, which is contrary to medical protocols, as understood by our counsel.
"Nothing effectively cooled him from his collapse at about 8:23 until EMS arrived at about 8:40. Prompt cold-water immersion is the recognized standard of care for exertional heat stroke, and results in a survival rate nearing 100%."
Demanding the coach be placed on leave while an investigation is conducted, they said: "An interim staff would allow the investigation to be completed and the players to be heard, without asking players to put their scholarships, roster positions, and playing time at risk in order to be heard - it is not fair to require that."
UNILAD have reached out to Arizona State University for comment.
Mia Williams