State lawmakers want ABOR to investigate what happened to ASU hockey player

State lawmakers are calling on the Arizona Board of Regents to authorize an investigation into what led to Arizona State University hockey player Matthew Mayich’s collapse and hospitalization.

Mayich has been on life support since he suffered heatstroke during an outdoor workout with the ASU hockey team on Aug. 20.

Rep. Matt Gress, chairman of the House Education Committee, and Sen. Hildy Angius, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, wrote a letter to ABOR requesting a independent probe. ABOR is the governing body tasked with overseeing the state’s three public universities, including ASU.

Gress told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday he was moved to act after seven of Mayich’s ASU hockey teammates released an anonymous 26-page report Monday detailing what they experienced and saw during the training session.

ASU is conducting an internal review of the incident and university policies. The school released the initial report of its findings on Sept. 21.

Gress said those findings don’t match up with information from the teammates’ report.

“These seven players who were at practice were describing the conditions of the practice, that players were vomiting, that they could barely stand, that Matthew had a hard time even walking before the final workout. All the while, ASU employees were present and watching all of this,” he said.

The ASU hockey players’ report also says little water was available during the training session and that no one involved has been disciplined.

What do lawmakers want to learn about the ASU hockey incident?

Gress said that ASU shouldn’t be conducting its own investigation because its “employees are the ones potentially at fault here,” adding that it seems like the incident could have been prevented if proper procedures were followed.

The lawmakers want ABOR to hire an independent investigator with no ties to ASU to find answers to the following questions:

• Who authorized the workout and the use of an outside consultant?
• Were ASU’s required approval and vetting procedures followed?
• Why wasn’t the workout submitted to ASU’s strength and conditioning professionals for review?
• Were ASU’s existing heat-safety requirements followed?
• Why did the workout continue after players exhibited signs of distress?
• Why did the final exercise proceed under the supervision of ASU personnel after the outside consultant left?

The lawmakers are requesting a response from ABOR by Oct. 9.

“These players are deeply concerned about retribution, their future scholarships, playing time, their careers being impacted,” Gress said. “And I had a chance to speak with the attorney for these seven hockey players, and all they want is the truth. They’re not filing any civil lawsuits, to my knowledge. They just want the truth, and they want justice for Matthew.”

The ASU Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the case, although attorneys for Mayich’s family want an outside law enforcement agency to determine if any crimes were committed.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

Subscribe to the KTAR Eyes on Education newsletter to get our top education stories, exclusive guest interviews and more to your email inbox.

Related

UofA fraternity suspended after allegedly forcing new members to eat live goldfishWould Prop 320 increase teacher pay or cut funding from schools?AZ Department of Education receives $5M federal grant to train special education teachersParents ask Scottsdale Unified Governing Board to choose least impactful school closure optionASU hockey report details Matthew Mayich’s collapse, assigns no blameWhat’s on your ballot? Prop 318 would restrict transgender athletes in Arizona schools