The parents of deceased Stanford soccer player Katie Meyer have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stanford. The family claims that the 21-year-old committed suicide after being stressed about facing discipline for an incident that occurred in 2021.
“Katie, being Katie, was defending a teammate on campus over an incident, and the repercussions of her defending that teammate [were possibly resulting in disciplinary action],” her father, Steve, told NBC’s “Today” show earlier this year.
The 22-year-old, who was found dead in her dorm room, was months away from graduation. Meyer’s parents believe she got an email from Stanford about the possible disciplinary action before she died.
The suit says Meyer spilled coffee on a football player at the school who had allegedly sexually assaulted one of Meyer’s teammates. She would soon receive a formal written notice that charged her with a “violation of the fundamental standard” the day she died.
Gina and Steven Meyer argued their daughter had “an acute stress reaction that impulsively led her” to commit suicide. Meyer was being threatened with “removal from the university,” and she would not receive her diploma on time. The lawsuit further adds that the notice came “after hours” while Meyer was “alone in her room without any support or resources.”
Dee Mostofi, who is Stanford’s assistant vice president of external communications, told USA Today that the university “strongly disagreed” with the claims in the lawsuit that Stanford was responsible for Meyer’s death.
Meyer won the 2019 national title with the Cardinal after making two big saves on penalty kicks.
