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Parents of Stanford soccer player Katie Meyer, who died by suicide, sue school for wrongful death

Meyer, who was the goalkeeper for the university's women's soccer team, died by suicide in March 2022.
/ Source: TODAY

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

The family of Katie Meyer, a goalkeeper and captain for Stanford University’s women’s soccer team who died by suicide earlier this year, is suing the university and its officials for wrongful death and several other claims. 

In a letter to the school’s community, the university confirmed on March 2 that Meyer had died at age 22 in a campus residence. It was shared the following day that she had died by suicide.

According to a lawsuit obtained and reviewed by TODAY.com, Meyer’s family filed a suit against the university arguing that the school’s handling of disciplinary action for an incident that occurred in August 2021 led to Meyer's death.

Days after their daughter’s death, Steve and Gina Meyer told NBC News’ Stephanie Gosk on TODAY that they believed their daughter’s fear over facing potential disciplinary action from the university might have been a contributing factor to her death.

The couple, who started the organization Katie's Save, said their daughter received an email about disciplinary action from the school shortly before she took her own life.

“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),” Steven Meyer, Katie's father, said in the interview that aired on March 4.

Gina Meyer, Katies mother, said at the time she and her husband had not seen the email yet.

"She had been getting letters for a couple months," Gina Meyer told TODAY in the March interview. "This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This is the only thing that we can come up with that triggered something.”

The family's lawsuit hinges on that email. In the court documents, the Meyer family's legal team argues that on the night of Meyer’s death, the university sent a formal written disciplinary notice after 7 p.m. charging the athlete with a "Violation of the Fundamental Standard by spilling coffee on another student" and that is what triggered her suicidal response.

In a statement published to Stanford's website on Dec. 1, the university reiterated the school's sympathy for Meyer's family but denied the school's actions played a part in her death.

"We strongly disagree with any assertion that the university is responsible for her death," the statement said. "The complaint brought by the Meyer family unfortunately contains allegations that are false and misleading."

The Meyer family lawsuit said Katie Meyer told university employees in November 2021 that she had “been scared for months that my clumsiness will ruin my chances of leaving Stanford on a good note” amid the disciplinary process.

According to the lawsuit, the alleged incident that triggered the disciplinary action occurred on Aug. 28, 2021.

“Katie was riding her bike and was alleged to have spilled coffee on a football player who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor female soccer player on the team in which Katie served as a captain," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said the football player, who was not named, "indicated throughout the disciplinary process that he would like to 'make amends' and 'did not want any punishment that impacts (Meyer's) life.'"

Meyer thought the incident had "blown over," the lawsuit said, and she was "shocked and distraught" when she got the note from the school.

The lawsuit said that the email sent the night of Meyer's suicide stated that the disciplinary action would cause her diploma to be put on hold for three months before her graduation, and cited “removal from the university” as a possible outcome.

“Stanford’s after-hours disciplinary charge, and the reckless nature and manner of submission to Katie, caused Katie to suffer an acute stress reaction that impulsively led to her suicide,’’ the lawsuit said. “Katie’s suicide was completed without planning and solely in response to the shocking and deeply distressing information she received from Stanford while alone in her room without any support or resources.’’

Stanford's Dec. 1 response said Meyer was contacted by the head of the Office of Community Standards “several days” before the written notice was delivered and that was given the opportunity to “provide any further information for consideration." But she did not, the school said, and she was told "the matter would move to a hearing."

Stanford also said the email from OCS to Meyer "explicitly" said that that "this was not a determination that she did anything wrong." It also included an offer to meet with Meyer to discuss the proceedings, the school said.

“Shortly after receiving that email, Katie wrote OCS staff and received a reply within the hour,’’ Stanford said. “Katie asked for a meeting to discuss the matter, was offered several available times, and chose one three days later, despite the availability of an earlier appointment.’’

The lawsuit claims the university didn't respond to Meyer's reply sufficiently, which included an "expression of distress."

"From the onset, there was no reasonable basis, nor sufficient evidence, for Stanford to bring such harsh and aggressive disciplinary charges for purported 'spilled coffee,' and the threats levied against Katie by Stanford employees were unwarranted, overly punitive, without due care and reckless," the lawsuit said. "In short, Stanford employees used the OCS process selectively on Katie Meyer as a form of institutional bullying."

In Stanford's response, the school also disputed the allegations that the university didn't address the football player incident and called the lawsuit's depiction of it "inaccurate."

"In fact, it is the university that initially reported this claim to Stanford’s Title IX office and the police," Stanford's statement said. "However, the Title IX office did not pursue the matter since the criteria for moving forward with an investigation were not met."

"We plan to fully defend the university and named defendants against the allegations in the complaint," the statement said.