Katie Meyer, a goalkeeper and two-year captain at Stanford University, who was a part of the 2019 NCAA Championship that went to penalty kicks, where she made key saves to secure the win for her team. She inspired so many young girls who were watching that night, including myself. Staying up late on a school night to watch the game, she left me with motivation that I could achieve something like that. Her energy radiated throughout the game, you could tell she knew she belonged there. She was both a standout on and off the field at Stanford who was a part of The Mayfield Fellows Program, chosen to be a Defense Innovation Scholar, was planning to teach a class at Stanford Design School and was hoping to be accepted into Stanford Law School. Katie had a bright future ahead with hopes of playing professionally while also pursuing Law School with the support of her family and friends behind her. Unfortunately, she passed away by suicide on March 1, 2022 in her dorm room at Stanford. Katie would have been 25 years old this year, her legacy still lives through the many people she has impacted.
This news left Katie’s parents, Steve and Gina Meyer, and the rest of the Meyer family heartbroken and confused because this wasn’t like their daughter. They had just spoken with her the same night and everything seemed okay, she was the bubbly and happy person she always was. Now they were stuck looking for information that could lead them as to why Katie did this. They immediately started researching and looking for answers. According to Sports Illustrated they found that one of Katie’s teammates allegedly “received an unwanted kiss from a football player on Aug. 20, 2021”. Then after several interviews, and court documents, eight days after this alleged encounter, Katie ran into the “football player while riding her bike through campus, and she spilled hot coffee on him”. Katie then met with OCS (Stanford’s Office of Community Standards) and told them she “fell off her bike and that the spilled coffee was an accident—that she didn’t know the person it landed on”. However, according to a letter from Stanford’s disciplinary arm, “the football player said she had intentionally poured it on his back”. OCS then officially launched an investigation and Katie was informed the next day where she was then interviewed and they began to speak to others as well. Steve and Gina Meyer were disappointed in Stanford that they were not informed about this incident. They had trouble accessing Katie’s records and were overall “put off” from the “clinical tone” of Stanford’s statements. However, they were horrified to find out Staford’s disciplinary process and the role it played in Katie’s death.
OCS emailed Katie on the last day, minutes before the deadline for disciplinary action would pass. Thinking that this was behind her, as she hadn’t heard anything in three months, the email came as a shock and left her spiraling. All the resources that were available on campus that she had been actively using were all closed for the night. After this horrifying discovery, the Meyer family officially filed a formal complaint against Stanford, its officials, and administrators “in Santa Clara Superior Court on Nov. 23, 2022, seeking injunctive relief and damages for, among other charges, wrongful death.” Stanford then released a statement saying “we strongly disagree with any assertion that the university is responsible for her death”. Stanford not only refused to work with Steve and Gina to help bring any sort of closure or compromise to Katie’s case, but they proceeded to claim that the reason why Katie committed suicide was because of “pressure” her parents put on her.
The Meyer family decided to take matters into their own hands and created the “Katie’s Save Organization” which works with youth, college and club soccer organizations to bring awareness to Katie’s story. Katie’s Save Organization created a law in honor of Katie called the “AB 1575, Katie Meyer’s Law.” Which according to Jacqui Irwin, allows “students at California’s public colleges and universities to select an adviser to help them navigate the disciplinary process”. This ensures that no other student or family has to endure what Katie and her loved ones went through. It’s crucial that college students feel supported and know they’re not alone. That’s why raising awareness about the Katie Meyer Law is so important, so we can see it implemented in every state, including Texas. Every student deserves someone in their corner. Katie Meyer left an incredible mark on everyone who knew her. She was a leader, a role model, and someone people truly admired. This law honors her legacy, carrying forward the same strength and impact she brought to the world. #F19HT
