Mayich attorney: ASU hockey coach replaced phone after workout, hasn’t ‘done anything right’

The family of hospitalized Arizona State hockey player Matthew Mayich is demanding answers after their attorney said head coach Greg Powers ditched his phone after the workout that left Mayich on life support.

Leonard Aragon, an attorney representing the Mayich family, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday the phone could have additional evidence in videos or communications between coaches that could clear up what happened on Aug. 20 when Mayich collapsed during a military-style workout.

The attorney’s letter to ASU dated Oct. 3 that flagged the potential loss of evidence can be found here.

The family’s understanding is that Powers was receiving death threats, which led to him replacing the device. Powers was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 30.

“We don’t condone (death threats). It shouldn’t happen, and it’s wrong,” Aragon said. “The problem with that is you don’t replace your phone, you replace your phone number. And that doesn’t require that your phone be replaced.

“It’s a big problem if he replaced his phone and ASU didn’t secure it.”

Aragon said he sent a preservation letter to ASU right after the incident to ensure such evidence would be kept in tact, but the university asked him to not directly contact employees. The attorney agreed to comply as long as the university followed its obligations, though he fears they may not have.

“I don’t think ASU or Powers have done anything right. The only smart thing they did was was hire (former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales for an independent investigation), but then they gave him the wrong mandate,” Aragon said. “They asked him the wrong question. They said, ‘Hey look at our policies, not what happened here.’

“What did we do wrong? Why is there a kid fighting for his life in a hospital bed? They didn’t ask him that, and that’s a problem.”

Mayich, who transferred to ASU over the offseason and was not properly acclimatized to the Arizona weather at the time of the workout, remains in “terrible, critical condition,” according to Aragon.

“Frankly, I don’t believe he’s ever going to walk out of there,” the attorney said. “The family’s praying for a miracle, and absent a miracle, he won’t walk out of that hospital.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Kellen Shover contributed to this report.

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