‘Zero chance of recovery’ for Arizona State player: Lawyer

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The lawyer representing the family of Stoney Creek’s Matthew Mayich said the comatose former Ontario Hockey League defenceman has “zero chance of recovery” after collapsing during a training camp drill last month at Arizona State University.

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High-profile attorney Robert Carey — a former deputy chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office who was also part of the landmark name, image and likeness lawsuit against the NCAA – told the Arizona Republic he has no faith as well that the university will investigate the incident impartially.

“This case has shattered (Mayich’s) life,” Carey told the Republic on Monday, calling the university’s narrative around the 21-year-old’s collapse “completely false.

“He deserves, and his family deserves, a proper investigation.”

Players allegedly ‘yelled at’ during drills

Mayich, who spent four OHL seasons with the Ottawa 67’s and attended Clarkson University in upstate New York last season before transferring, remains in a coma after an outdoor workout at Arizona State’s Joe Selleh Track on the morning of Aug. 20, the first day of the university’s fall semester.

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The team was at the field for a 50-minute workout, which Carey has described as gruelling, led by an ex-Green Beret before medical crews in Tempe responded to calls about a heat-related illness at about 8:30 a.m. The Republic reported that the temperature was already about 30 C at the time of the call.

The St. Louis Blues prospect was rushed to a hospital and has since been transferred to the Barrow Neurological Institute in nearby Phoenix, the Republic reported, with his family reportedly by his side.

Carey, a partner at the Hagens Berman law firm, told the Republic he had spoken to “multiple” players on the team who described the training session as an intensive workout and said that the instructor “yelled at them from the get-go … like a drill instructor.”

He said water was only available to certain participants and that players were told not to complain about the workout. Mayich, meanwhile, had displayed “obvious” signs of distress and was unable to complete tasks, Carey told the Republic.

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“He (Mayich) was disoriented and struggled well before he collapsed,” Carey said.

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Workouts ‘far from’ extreme: Instructor’s attorney

An attorney for the instructor, identified by the Republic as retired Special Forces veteran Tim Ziesel, said his client left the track before Mayich collapsed and denied that the workout was extreme.

“This was not a Green Beret or (Navy) SEAL workout — far from it,” Buddy Rake told the Republic in a Thursday interview. “The head coach, assistant coaches and medical (staff) were always present.”

Ziesel’s attorney said the drill was on the first day of three planned days of training and that players were asked to do sprints, push-ups, flutter kicks, lift and carry teammates and run with medicine balls.

Rake also said university officials have not talked to his client since Mayich collapsed.

“Obviously, he is devastated by what’s happened to this kid,” Rake said. “This is a horrible event that should be thoroughly and objectively investigated.”

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School peddling a ‘false narrative’?

However, Carey has since hit back at Ziesel’s descriptions of the workouts and other reports, calling them “fictional” and part of a “false narrative” in an interview with The Athletic.

“I’ve already gotten information on what happened that day and I’m very confident it was a gruelling, onerous and dangerous workout,” Carey said.

He also said the university is not handling the aftermath of the incident “responsibly” and called for the coaching staff to be put on administrative leave so a proper investigation can be conducted.

“A kid’s life was basically ruined, the family is devastated and people refuse to accept responsibility,” he told The Athletic.

Those comments came after Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini told a radio station last week that they were undergoing a review, not an investigation.

“This is not an investigation where someone is suggesting something went wrong,” he said. “We’re just reviewing the facts and understanding the scenario.”

The review will reportedly be led by the university’s senior vice-president James Rund, who according to The Athletic also serves as executive vice-chair for the Sun Devils and has previously been an interim vice-president for the program.

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