Content warning: this piece discusses the suicide of former Stanford soccer player Katie Meyer.
The wide shot shows two soccer players. The one in Carolina blue approaches the penalty mark, and the keeper clad in cardinal takes her position. A 2019 Women’s College Cup banner frames the goal and tells us the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The player in blue jogs toward the ball. The keeper, anticipating the sharp right turn, slides into the ball’s path, causing it to ricochet from the crossbar. A celebratory roar emanates from the keeper. She spots the camera and makes eye contact, walking toward it with all the swagger of a WWE wrestler cutting a promo, pointing to her jersey, and miming a ‘shut your mouth’ gesture — never once breaking eye contact.
The keeper is Katie Meyer. Number 19, Southern California native, redshirt freshman at Stanford University riding the highest high of her young life: saving the winning penalty kick in a National Championship game. Just over two years later, Meyer would be found dead in her college dorm room after ending her life, just three months shy of graduation.
In a new E:60 airing Saturday, May 10, at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN, Save: The Katie Meyer Story focuses on the events that led to this tragic outcome and highlights how Katie’s parents, Gina and Steve Meyer, have turned their “pain into purpose” through judicial advocacy.
The 60-minute documentary, reported by Julie Foudy and produced by Jennifer Karson-Strauss, takes us on a deep dive into Katie’s life, which revolves around her close-knit family and the game of soccer. The middle child of three daughters, Katie joined the U.S. National Team system at 15 years old. She was heavily recruited to play in college, ultimately choosing Stanford University, where she won a National Championship as a redshirt freshman in 2019.
The documentary — perhaps in stark contrast to recent court filings (we’ll get to that) — centers around Katie’s voice. With the help of audio and video footage recorded during her life, Katie narrates much of the documentary, allowing us a privileged look into her world. Scrapbooks, social media accounts, and interviews with family members fill in other gaps, and a picture of who Katie was — bright, gregarious, confident, driven, silly, an advocate — begins to emerge. This image of a young woman who seems to have it all only adds to the confusion of what transpired in Katie’s final hour.
February 28, 2022
Katie’s love for Stanford University is showcased throughout Save: The Katie Meyer Story. On the last day of February, Katie is three months from graduation. Her future is bright, and she plans to remain at Stanford for her final year of soccer eligibility. She is anxiously awaiting a decision from Stanford Law School. Gina and Steve Meyer spoke to their daughter this Sunday evening over FaceTime, describing a routine call with Katie, sharing updates and spring break travel plans. Nothing amiss, or so it seemed. And yet, by the next morning, she was gone.
What Happened?
The Meyers initially assumed an accident had befallen Katie, but a note in her dorm room indicated Katie was “So, so scared.” In the haze of shock and grief, the Meyers tried to reconcile how their daughter could go from the normal, happy 22-year-old seen on FaceTime to feeling she had no option but to end her life. What had transpired in those final hours?
Save: The Katie Meyer Story poignantly describes the moment the Meyers began to uncover answers and the beginning of a fractured relationship between two entities Katie loved immensely: her own family and Stanford University. It all started when a friend of the Meyers suggested unlocking Katie’s computer.
The OCS Email
This digital search for answers only led to more questions. Katie’s internet browser was open to an email from Stanford’s Office of Community Standards (OCS). This email, written by an Associate Dean in OCS, informed Katie that formal charges would be brought against her for a potential conduct violation the previous fall.
On August 28, 2021, Katie allegedly spilled coffee on a football player who reportedly engaged in sexual misconduct with one of her young teammates. The Meyers weren’t aware of the incident but later learned that OCS Dean Lisa Caldera advanced the disciplinary case against Katie, not the football player, and that the fateful email was received just five hours before the expiration of Stanford’s own six-month statute of limitations to bring charges.
The OCS email outlined the consequences for such a violation, including a diploma hold and removal from the university. It’s not difficult to imagine the devastating impact such an email would have on the soccer team captain with law school aspirations. It seems that is how the evening transpired as subsequent forensic analysis showed Meyer toggling between the email and various internet searches, hoping to understand her fate. It is heartbreaking to watch Katie’s parents try to envision their daughter alone, scared, and frantically searching for answers as her world spun upside down.
The Meyers say Stanford was reckless and negligent in sending such a serious and consequential email on a Sunday night at 7 p.m. when much of the university is closed and few student resources are available. After that, we have to fill in the blanks, but the Meyers assert that Katie panicked and impulsively ended her life in Carother’s Hall as a direct result of that email.
“Overly Punitive”
The question becomes: is Stanford’s disciplinary process to blame for Katie’s death? The Meyers certainly believe so and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stanford in November 2022.
Save: The Katie Meyer Story reveals two critical factors to this story: Katie’s mental health (she’d been seeing a sports psychologist for anxiety) and known issues with Stanford’s disciplinary process, reported by The Student Justice Project (a group of Stanford students, parents, and alumni that describe “systemic violation of student rights” related to academic misconduct and disciplinary proceedings).
From their website: “Over the course of almost two years, the OCS 6 tried to work with Stanford University to fix its judicial problems, methodically working through the hierarchy of Stanford supervision, all the way to the Office of the President. Nothing changed.”
The Meyers argue that Stanford knew about these systemic issues but did nothing to overhaul the “overly punitive” process. In an ugly turn, Stanford volleyed blame back at the Meyers, citing a class presentation where Katie disclosed feeling pressure to excel was part of her family dynamic. Ultimately, the courts will decide whether Stanford is to blame for Katie’s death. Meyer vs. Stanford goes to trial on April 26, 2026.
Katie Meyer’s Law
The E:60 also details how, according to Gina Meyer, her family has turned “pain into purpose” through their nonprofit Katie Saves and judicial advocacy.
In 2024, Assembly Bill 1575, known as Katie Meyer’s Law, was passed unanimously and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. This law allows “students at California’s public colleges and universities to select an adviser to help them navigate the disciplinary process,” according to a September 2024 press release from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin.
Gina and Steve Meyer believe this resource could have saved Katie’s life. Now, Katie Meyer’s Law is their fervent attempt to save others.
Save: The Katie Meyer Story airs on ESPN on Saturday, May 10 at 11:00 am ET.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or visit 988lifeline.org.