Last night, The Athletic published a story featuring Rob Carey, the attorney representing the family of Arizona State defenseman Matthew Mayich. Carey told The Athletic that he believes Arizona State is mishandling its review of the circumstances surrounding Mayich’s collapse during a workout Aug. 20.
Carey also spoke with The Arizona Republic for a story published earlier today. In that interview, Carey said Mayich has “zero chance of recovery.”
From The Arizona Republic:
ASU has pushed an unofficial narrative about “how minimal, how soft and how easy” the workout was while players and others have privately reported it as being “unbearably hard,” he said.
“My investigation shows the storyline is completely false,” Carey told The Arizona Republic on Aug. 31. “This case has shattered (Mayich’s) life. He deserves, and his family deserves, a proper investigation.”
The Arizona Republic reported that Mayich was initially taken to local hospitals before being transferred to Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
According to its website, Barrow Neurological Institute describes itself as “an international leader in the treatment, research, and education of brain and spinal diseases, conditions, and injuries.”
Carey also provided The Arizona Republic with additional details about what he says he has learned through interviews with players.
From the report:
Carey said he has interviewed multiple players and has learned they were forced to go through a series of intensive workouts without standard breaks while the ex-soldier “yelled at them from the get-go ... like a drill instructor.”
Players were told not to complain; water was available only to those who led exercises and little was left for those who trailed, Carey said.
Mayich showed obvious signs of distress and was unable to complete tasks as the workout progressed, Carey said.
“He was disoriented and struggled well before he collapsed,” he said.