Seven Arizona State University hockey players have formally asked school president Michael Crow to place head coach Greg Powers and his assistant coaches on administrative leave, escalating a dispute over an August workout that left sophomore defenseman Matthew Mayich in a coma and on life support.
The request came in a 26-page letter submitted through an attorney, according to reporting by The Athletic. The players, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from Powers, argue that the coaching staff should not remain in charge of the program while the circumstances of the Aug. 20 session are still contested.
At the center of the dispute is the university's initial review of the workout, which found that Mayich did not receive proper hydration and had inadequate medical care after he collapsed. The players say that account does not match what they witnessed and that the coaches who ran the session should be separated from the team while the matter is unresolved.
«The head coach and his assistant coaches were all on the field on August 20, all remain in their positions, and together they decide our playing time, scholarship levels, and roster status,» the players wrote. «No one has separated us from them since that morning. We should not have to choose between telling the truth about August 20 and keeping what we have worked our whole lives for.»
The players say the «grueling» workout was conducted by a former U.S. Army Green Beret. According to the school's review, players received a water break about 20 minutes into the session. The players dispute that timeline, saying the only break came roughly 40 minutes into the 75-minute workout and lasted just seconds.
They add that only about eight players managed to drink water because they were the first to finish a bear crawl drill and had a brief moment at the bottles before being ordered back to the drill. «The first of us to finish had a few seconds at the bottles before being ordered back while others, including Matthew, were still crawling,» the letter states. «This was the only water break.»
The players also say the former Green Beret admitted he forgot they needed a water break, but noted he did not drink water during combat missions. Mayich, an Ontario native, showed signs of distress early in the session, according to the letter, becoming disoriented during the bear crawl and struggling to carry a teammate during a buddy carry exercise.
«No one at ASU properly monitored him during the workout and no one intervened,» the players wrote. When Mayich collapsed, they say he remained in direct sunlight for several minutes, contradicting the university's report that he sat upright twice. Teammates had to carry him into the shade, and the only cooling methods available were towels from a cooler, water bottles, and a garden hose, in Arizona heat that regularly reaches triple digits in August.
The players noted that Mayich spent most of his free time in his air-conditioned apartment because the heat was too oppressive for him, and that outdoor workouts before Aug. 20 typically lasted about 15 minutes before the team went back inside.
Powers was asked earlier this month about the incident but declined to speak, citing the «difficult time» it has been for the program. The players say their head coach downplayed Mayich's condition when he first addressed them, describing it as a «little heat stroke» while suggesting the team was «closer to making the Frozen Four because of the workout.» The Frozen Four is college hockey's national semifinal round.
«From what we could tell, at no point did Coach Powers seem to appreciate the severity of the situation,» the letter adds. The Sun Devils are scheduled to open their season Friday against Lindenwood, with the players' request for administrative leave still pending before the university president.