The attorney representing the family of the Arizona State hockey player who collapsed during a team workout has asked the campus police department to transfer its investigation to an impartial agency such as the Phoenix police department, according to a letter obtained by ESPN Thursday.
“The family’s goal is simple: to learn the truth about what happened to their son. That requires an investigation that is impartial and free of any institutional stake in the outcome,” attorney Rob Carey wrote in the letter, which was sent to ASU’s general counsel and dated Sept. 4.
“Even a flawless investigation by ASUPD would be met with the objection that the University investigated itself,” Carey wrote.
Carey urged ASU to request that the Phoenix Police Department assume the investigation and proposed the Arizona Attorney General’s Office or the Arizona Department of Public Safety should Phoenix PD decline. He asked the school to respond by Friday.
“If not, we will make the request ourselves,” he wrote.
Carey declined to comment to ESPN.
An ASU spokesman did not answer ESPN’s questions about the request to transfer the investigation and referred ESPN to a Sept. 3 statement that said ASU police received a 911 call around 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 20 and “began investigating as they would anytime they are called to a serious incident.”
The statement also said the university is reviewing the circumstances of the workout and its policies.
The ASU Police Department and the Phoenix Police Department did not immediately respond to ESPN’s request for comment.
Defenseman Matthew Mayich collapsed on Aug. 20 during an offseason workout led by former Green Beret Tim Ziesel and has been hospitalized in critical condition. Mayich’s attorney previously told ESPN that Mayich suffered exertional heat stroke that reduced the flow of oxygen to his brain. Temperatures had reached 90 degrees during the morning, according to the National Weather Service.
In his letter, Carey wrote Mayich is unlikely to recover.
Ziesel’s attorney, Buddy Rake, compared the workout Ziesel led to “a medium preseason high school workout.” He told ESPN his client believes there should be “an investigation and complete transparency with Matthew’s family.”
In a statement posted to Instagram Thursday, the Professional Hockey Players’ Association — which represents the American Hockey League and the ECHL — appeared to reference Mayich’s case and called for a thorough investigation into “the recent tragedy in collegiate hockey” while protecting athletes from retaliation. The PHPA did not name Mayich or ASU.
“That young man, on the cusp of his career in professional hockey, was failed by the system, the system should have protected him,” PHPA executive director Brian Ramsay said. “The University president must conduct an inquiry and meet with players who will tell the truth about that day, but they must also guarantee that no player will suffer any repercussions or retaliation.
“No game, roster spot, scholarship or career is worth compromising an athlete’s health or safety. We owe all athletes an environment that makes that principle absolute.”
Mayich played four seasons with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League before competing at Clarkson University last season. He transferred to Arizona State for the upcoming season. The St. Louis Blues selected him in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL draft, but he never signed an entry-level contract.
