On Dec. 8, 2019, there may not have been a happier person than redshirt freshman goalkeeper Katie Meyer. She had just led the Stanford Cardinals to a national championship by getting two saves to seal the victory.
Who would have thought three years later, her friends, family, community and fans would be saying goodbye? On March 1, 2022, Meyer, now a senior, was found unresponsive in her dorm room and was pronounced dead on the scene. The cause of death was suicide.
The reason for her suicide has been argued, but her parents and other students blamed Stanford for Meyer being under too much stress due to a disciplinary action going on.
According to Mercury News, “a group of Stanford University alumni released documents alleging the university has routinely failed to protect students during disciplinary proceedings, which they say may have resulted in the death… alumni, led by Bob Ottilie, argue that Meyer would be alive today if Stanford had agreed to a proposal from the Stanford Justice Project in 2012.” The project would have provided free alumni lawyers to every student going through proceedings.
Meyer was a rising star athlete going through something, and she didn’t feel comfortable enough to ask for help. By pushing this discipline on her, the University likely contributed to her stress and potential suicide.
The Stanford soccer team really felt the loss, so on Oct. 15 they honored Meyer with a ceremony about mental health awareness. Sophomore Andrea Kitahata wore Katie’s number 19 in warmups, and the team really made the ceremony special. Kitahata expressed in an interview with ABC7 how much the team really misses their captain.
“It has been difficult for sure,” Kitahata said. “We miss her every day, but we are playing this season and we are playing for her always.”
Mental health is something that many people overlook. College is hard enough as is, but when disciplinary action is added on, it can be even more difficult to deal with everything going on.
According to her teammates, Meyer was a smiling, outgoing person, and the stat sheets showed that she was a fantastic soccer player, but she was also a person. She had feelings and emotions, and she went through challenges. It’s impossible to know all of what Meyer went through, but it is possible to know that she was struggling, and Stanford University didn’t make her struggles any easier.
If you, or someone you know is going through a mental health crisis, know that there are resources available. For students at the University of Idaho, the Counseling and Testing Center is free to utilize. They also have a 24-hour crisis line that can be reached by calling (208) 885-6716 and pressing 3. For those who aren’t UI students, the National Suicide Hotline can be reached by dialing 988.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10