Katie Meyer’s death: Family of former Stanford soccer goalie files lawsuit against university

Katie Meyer’s parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stanford, saying the 21-year-old goaltender is concerned about being disciplined over an August 2021 incident.

Meyer took his own life at the end of February. The civil suit was filed Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. USA Today received the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Meyer spilled coffee on a Stanford soccer player who allegedly sexually assaulted a soccer teammate. It also says that on the evening of February 28, the same night she died, Meyer received a formal written notice accusing her of “violating the fundamental standard.”

The breach suspended her diploma a few months before she actually graduated, USA Today reported.

Her parents argue in the lawsuit that the notification came “after hours” while Meyer was “alone in her room with no support or resources.” The lawsuit states that Meyer responded to the email “expressing how ‘shocked and disturbed’ she was to be charged and threatened with removal from the university,” and a follow-up Received an email arranging a meeting three days later.

Her parents said in the lawsuit that Meyer “had an acute stress reaction that led her impulsively” to take her own life. The lawsuit also states that Meyer told Stanford employees in November 2021 that she had “been afraid for months that my clumsiness will ruin my chances of leaving Stanford with a good grade.”

Stanford’s associate vice president of external communications, Dee Mostofi, told USA Today on Wednesday that the school “totally disagreed” with the lawsuit’s allegation that Stanford was responsible for Meyer’s death and did not see the complaint.

In 2019, Meyer was part of the women’s national championship soccer team. She stopped two penalties in Stanford’s 5-4 shootout win over North Carolina after a goalless draw.