Katie Meyer Death, Katie Meyer family sues Stanford over soccer star’s death
- by Alex Danvers
Katie Meyer Obituary, Death – A lawsuit for wrongful death has been filed against Stanford University by the family of Katie Meyer, a star goalkeeper for the Stanford University soccer team who committed suicide in March. She is said to have “suffered an acute stress reaction that impulsively led to her suicide” as a result of the actions of the university administrators, according to the lawsuit that was filed on Wednesday and reviewed by CNN. The allegations center on a notice of disciplinary action that was given to Meyer on the evening before she passed away. According to the lawsuit, on March 1, 2019, Meyer, who had helped Stanford win the 2019 NCAA College Cup championship game, received a six-page formal charge email from Stanford’s office of community standards.
The email contained a disciplinary notice following an incident that occurred in August 2021, in which she allegedly spilled coffee on another Stanford student-athlete, who was accused of sexually assaulting one of her minor teammates. Meyer had helped Stanford win the 2019 NCAA College Cup championship game. Later that evening, her body was discovered inside one of the residence halls at Stanford University, where she worked as a residential adviser. Meyer’s mother claims that the night before, her daughter had been in a cheerful mood as she talked with her family via video chat about how they were going to spend their spring break together.
The lawsuit filed by Meyer’s parents asserted that the letter their daughter received shortly before her death “contained threatening language regarding sanctions and potential removal from the university.” The lawsuit stated that “the formal disciplinary charge letter related to spilled coffee also informed Katie her diploma was being placed on hold only three (3) months shy of her graduation; threatening her status as a Stanford student, Captain, and member of the Soccer team, Residential Advisor, Mayfield Fellow, Defense Innovative Scholar, and her ability to attend Stanford Law school,” amongst many other things. “The formal disciplinary charge letter related to spilled coffee also informed Katie her diploma was being placed on hold only three (3) months shy of her graduation.”
It was stated that Meyer immediately contacted the university after receiving the email, informing them that she was “shocked and distraught” over the notice, but that “Stanford employees failed to support Katie when she expressed feelings of despair.” The cause of death was determined to be a suicide after an autopsy was performed. According to the lawsuit, “Katie suffered from an acute stress reaction, which impulsively led to her suicide as a result of Stanford’s after-hours disciplinary charge, as well as the reckless nature and manner in which it was submitted to Katie.” “Katie’s suicide was carried out without any planning and solely as a response to the shocking and deeply distressing information she received from Stanford while she was alone in her room and without any support or resources.”
The claims that were made in the lawsuit were refuted by Dee Mostofi, a spokesperson for Stanford. According to ESPN, Mostofi was quoted as saying, “The Stanford community continues to grieve Katie’s tragic death.” “We sympathize with her family for the unimaginable pain that Katie’s passing has caused them,” Mostofi was also quoted as saying.
“However, we vehemently dispute any claim that the university bears any responsibility for her passing,” Although we have not yet seen the formal complaint that the Meyer family has filed, we are aware of some of the allegations that have been made in the filing, and we believe that these allegations are both false and misleading.
Additionally, according to Mostofi, the letter of discipline that was sent to Meyer by the university included “a number to call for immediate support and [she] was specifically told that this resource was available to her 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Katie Meyer Obituary, Death – A lawsuit for wrongful death has been filed against Stanford University by the family of Katie Meyer, a star goalkeeper for the Stanford University soccer team who committed suicide in March. She is said to have “suffered an acute stress reaction that impulsively led to her suicide” as a result…