On August 20, Arizona State University hockey player and St. Louis Blues draftee Matthew Mayich collapsed due to a workout described as “grueling” by multiple outlets. Mayich is now in a coma and most signs point to him not recovering. His family and supporters say that trainers withheld water from athletes at the workout, a practice that has been deemed unethical and medically dangerous by athletes, doctors, and those with common sense for decades.
In a statement to CBC, Mayich lawyer Rob Carey said that while details were scarce, one thing was clear.
“You have an elite NHL-drafted athlete showing up on the first coach-led workout, the very first day the team could organize formally, and he left the field with no chance of recovery… Obviously there’s something wrong.” Carey said.
Mayich is far from the first elite athlete severely harmed by the heat. According to the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut—named for an athlete who died from heat stroke during an NFL training camp—at least 58 players died from heat stroke between 1992 and 2024.
Just last year, one high school football player in Tennessee died from the condition. In 2020, a University of the Cumberlands wrestler died after being denied additional water breaks. He was, according to a BBC report from 2023 that detailed a settlement, taking prescribed medications that required he consume more fluid. Researchers are also concerned that climate change could increase the rates of these incidents. In other words, this is not a new problem.
Meanwhile, the problem persists in para-sport as well. In a 2018 women’s world championships game a coach from team China hit an athlete in the head. In 2021, a U.S. national team wheelchair basketball coach was relieved of his duties after his abusive actions towards players were uncovered, including encouraging a weight loss competition amongst athletes.
Mayich and other cases illustrate mistreatment of athletes as a disability rights issue in two distinct ways. First, because of the disabling nature of these situations. Even if Mayich recovers, it is unlikely he will return to his NHL prospect-caliber form. The treatment Mayich was allegedly subjected to will impact his quality of life, his future earnings, and inflicted a lot of pain on him and his loved ones. Even for those who recover from athletics-induced injuries—from the spinal cord injuries of football and rugby players to the torn ligaments suffered across the athletic spectrum to the bizarre uptick in teenage baseball players undergoing highly invasive Tommy John surgery—there are lifelong effects.
Secondly, mistreatment of athletes is a disability rights issue because research has long held that a lack of activity causes poorer health outcomes. At the same time, research shows that Disabled people are far less likely to have access to equitable athletic opportunities and that, in situations like the ones facing those with long COVID, returning to activity can be dangerous. This can come down to many factors, some of which DJA has previously reported.
Mayich’s case may seem like an outlier but his health crisis shows that Disabled people, whether they’re former NHL prospects or not, are not part of a sports system that always has their best intentions in mind.
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