Former Supreme Court chief justice to complete independent review of Matthew Mayich collapse

A former Arizona Supreme Court chief justice will be conducting an independent review into the circumstances surrounding an Aug. 20 outdoor workout that left hockey player Matthew Mayich on life support.

In a Friday letter addressed to Arizona State University President Michael Crow, Senior Vice President James Rund — who conducted the university’s initial review of the incident— wrote that Scott Bales was being retained to complete the independent review. He will examine the facts compiled by the university, Mayich family attorneys, attorneys for seven ASU hockey team members, law enforcement and others.

After the review is complete, Bales will make recommendations for planning, staffing, policies and preparation for outdoor athletic activities.

Bales served on the Arizona Supreme Court for 14 years, including as a chief justice for five years, and is now a member of The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

“Justice Bales is a respected choice, and he will do an excellent job. But ASU hired him to review policies that may help prevent a tragedy like this in the future,” Mayich family attorney Rob Carey said in a statement. “That’s not what’s needed right now. What is necessary, and what the Mayich family has asked for and deserves, is an investigation of what went wrong on that field and who is responsible. Justice Bales has not been asked to answer those fundamental questions.”

Carey highlighted that ASU’s safety rules require a root-cause investigation when a student is hurt, emphasizing the university needs to be getting answers to the hard questions.

Additionally, the attorney stated that Bales should be reporting to the board of regents and his findings should be made public.

What has happened since Matthew Mayich collapsed?

ASU head coach Greg Powers was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday, more than a month after Mayich collapsed during an outdoor workout.

ASU announced assistant Mike Corbett will lead the team this weekend before the program names an interim head coach.

Powers’ leave came two days after seven ASU hockey players anonymously submitted a 26-page report to the university’s president, alleging safety policies were ignored during the workout in which Mayich collapsed.

The players stated they were speaking anonymously because they feared potential retaliation from the coaching staff.

The players also disputed Rund’s internal review. Among the points disputed was that the workout lasted 75 minutes, not 45 as the Rund report found.

The letter called for Crow to act ahead of ASU opening its season with road games Friday and Saturday at Lindenwood, citing Phoenix hockey legend Shane Doan among suggestions for who the university could select as interim coach. The home opener at Mullett Arena is scheduled for Oct. 9 against Holy Cross.

Mayich family attorney responds to Scott Bales appointment

ASU has finally agreed to bring in someone from outside. It took six weeks, two U.S. senators, legislative committee chairs, and the Board of Regents to get there, and ASU has again failed to do what is necessary.

Justice Bales is a respected choice, and he will do an excellent job. But ASU hired him to review policies that may help prevent a tragedy like this in the future. That’s not what’s needed right now. What is necessary, and what the Mayich family has asked for and deserves, is an investigation of what went wrong on that field and who is responsible. Justice Bales has not been asked to answer those fundamental questions.

ASU’s own safety rules require a root-cause investigation whenever a student is hurt. Yet that is not happening. The first thing ASU needs to do is get answers to the hard questions: How did this workout get onto the field? Why did no one stop it when players were in visible distress, with no water, no rest, direct sun, and kids who had been in Arizona barely a week? Which ASU, conference, and NCAA rules were broken, by whom, and why?

We’ve seen this done right. When Jordan McNair collapsed at a Maryland football workout in 2018, outside investigators interviewed the coaches and staff who witnessed the workout and reconstructed in detail what happened and when. The University System of Maryland Board of Regents took control of the investigation from the campus and released the findings publicly. A separate independent commission investigated the broader culture of the football program, while the head coach remained on administrative leave.

There are firms that specialize in exactly this work. Some reconstruct exertional heat stroke cases and evaluate emergency preparedness. Others investigate institutional and personnel failures.

ASU should expand Justice Bales’s mandate to cover the questions that matter and let him bring in the expertise he needs. Otherwise, it should appoint a second independent investigator to examine what ASU’s employees did and failed to do, and the conduct of whomever they allowed to run the workout that left Matthew Mayich in a hospital bed fighting for his life.

Justice Bales should report to the Board of Regents, not to the office whose own review has missed too much. The findings should be made public. And until the work is done, ASU should keep the coaches who were on that field away from the players it says, once again, it wants to hear from, who right now are playing under the watchful eye of the head coach’s best friend.

Related

Arizona doctor sentenced for his role in a $36.5 million Medicaid fraud caseTeen found with life-threatening injuries in San Tan ValleyRob Schneider helps Andy Biggs mock Gov. Katie Hobbs’ debate refusalStage 12 West, a new restaurant and live entertainment venue, opens in downtown MesaIt’s another busy weekend of construction across the Valley freeway systemMonday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election