Хоккейн тоглогч Мэттью Мэйчигийн биеийн байдал хүнд байгаатай холбогдуулан сургуулийн удирдлагын явуулж буй үйл ажиллагааг мэргэжлийн бус гэж өмгөөлөгч нь үзэж байна.
Хоккейн тоглогч Мэттью Мэйчи наймдугаар сарын 20-нд Аризона Стэйт их сургуулийн зохион байгуулсан цэргийн хэв маягийн бэлтгэлийн үеэр ухаан алдаж, улмаар эмнэлэгт хүргэгдэн биеийн байдал нь хүнд хэвээр байна. Тамирчны ар гэрийг төлөөлж буй өмгөөлөгч Роб Кэри сургуулийн зүгээс асуудлыг хариуцлагатай шийдвэрлэхгүй байгааг онцлоод, дасгалжуулагчийн бүрэлдэхүүнийг ажлаас нь түр чөлөөлөх шаардлагатай гэж мэдэгдлээ.
Уг бэлтгэл нь хичээлийн жилийн эхний өдөр болсон бөгөөд 60 минутын турш хэт ачаалалтай дасгалуудыг багтаасан гэх мэдээлэл байна. Тухайн үед агаарын температур 86 хэм байсан бөгөөд цаг агаарын нөхцөл байдлаас шалтгаалан тогтмол завсарлага авах шаардлагатай байсан ч бэлтгэлийг хэрхэн удирдсан нь тодорхойгүй үлдэв.
Сургуулийн зүгээс үүнийг мөрдөн шалгах ажиллагаа биш, харин нөхцөл байдлыг дүгнэх хяналт гэж тайлбарлаж байна. Гэвч шинжээч Род Уолтерс сургуулийн дотоод шалгалт нь үнэн зөв үр дүн гаргахгүй байх магадлалтай тул бие даасан, хараат бус мөрдлөг явуулах нь зүйтэй гэдгийг анхаарууллаа.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
An attorney representing Matthew Mayich’s family said Arizona State University is mishandling the investigation into the hockey player’s collapse and hospitalization and called on members of the coaching staff to be put on administrative leave.
“It’s very clear to me that this is a time when adults have to do the right thing — sometimes the right thing is the hard thing — and from everything I can tell and the leads we have, ASU is not handling this responsibly,” said Rob Carey, the former deputy chief attorney general of Arizona, who added the University “seems to be circling the wagons.”
Mayich, 21, collapsed Aug. 20 while the team participated in an outdoor military-style workout. He remains hospitalized and in critical condition, a person close to the family confirmed. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Aug. 20 training session took place on the first day of Arizona State’s fall semester, the earliest NCAA rules allow hockey teams to start formal activities. Multiple people briefed on the workout, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Athletic it lasted about 60 minutes and consisted of sprints, planks, push-ups and bear crawls with an emphasis on repeating instructions back to the instructor and keeping a correct count of each exercise. Players who failed to do either or lagged behind other groups were forced to complete extra sprints or exercises.
The Athletic confirmed the instructor as former military service member Tim Ziesel, a nonuniversity employee. Ziesel, 39, has not responded to numerous calls, text messages and an email with questions about his background, training and objectives for the workout.
Buddy Rake, Ziesel’s attorney, disputed the workout’s reported rigors, telling 12News in Phoenix last week: “There isn’t a D1 athlete on the planet that would describe this as a hard day of exercising, including the ASU hockey team.”
Carey, a partner at the law firm Hagens Berman, blasted those comments and similar reports as “fictional” and part of a “false narrative” he considers an attempt by those involved in the workout to manipulate the truth.
“I’ve already gotten information on what happened that day, and I’m very confident it was a grueling, onerous and dangerous workout,” Carey said, pushing back against suggestions it was a team-bonding exercise consisting of light calisthenics.
Carey, who represented former ASU quarterback Sam Keller as he joined former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon in a landmark legal victory over the NCAA for name, image and likeness rights, said his firm will exercise every resource at its disposal to obtain any communications, including text messages and videos, about the incident or any statements made thereafter, including any that were deleted.
Athletic director Graham Rossini said in a radio interview last week it was “a really, really important distinction” to note the school was not investigating what happened but rather conducting a review: “This is not an investigation where someone is suggesting something went wrong. We’re just reviewing the facts and understanding the scenario.”
Carey said it is routine procedure during an investigation to consider putting “the coach and anyone on staff on administrative leave” to separate them from witnesses of the event.
“A kid’s life was basically ruined, the family is devastated, and people refuse to accept responsibility,” Carey said.
Last week, Chris Fiscus, vice president of ASU media relations, said the school’s athletic department has heat illness guidelines in place, informed by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, and institutional guidelines and requirements relating to the engagement of outside entities who interact with student-athletes. Fiscus declined to answer questions about who authorized the Aug. 20 workout and whether any coaches or trainers were present.
Fiscus said last week the review would be led by ASU senior vice president James Rund, who, according to his ASU biography, also serves as the executive vice chair for Sun Devil Sports and filled in as ASU’s interim vice president for Sun Devil Athletics in 2023-24. Rund received his doctorate in education from Arizona State.
Rod Walters, the national director of athlete safety at Andrews Athlete, who has investigated several college athlete safety cases, said an independent review from outside the school produces the most accurate result.
“I can name you case after case after case where an internal review said everything was fine,” Walters said. “That’s not always the case. But many times, that’s the case. I think the parents, the institution, the stakeholders, they want to have a feeling that it’s independent.”
Walters recalled that when he investigated the death of Maryland football player Jordan McNair, he rebuffed the university board of regents’ request for weekly updates “as it tampers with the process.”
“I’ve had institutions that have said we would like to have reports as you’re moving along,” Walters said. “I said, ‘Well then, we need to part ways, because I’m not going to do that. This is an independent investigation.’ That’s just how we operate.”
On the day Mayich collapsed, the temperature in Tempe was 86 degrees at 6:51 a.m. with 51 percent humidity and no wind, according to the Weather Underground website. Based on those conditions, the National Weather Service recommends 15 minutes of break for every hour of exercise. Tempe Fire Medical Rescue crews were dispatched to Sun Angel Stadium on ASU’s campus at 8:31 a.m. for a “heat-related illness.”
