The Golden Trident

By Rowan Watkins

Athletics can be a great outlet for teens to express energy and emotions, but sometimes the systems in place don’t support athletes’ mental health. In the past 20 years, the suicide rate for college athletes has doubled, according to US News. The main reasons that athletes struggle are as follows: putting pressure on themselves, injuries, burnout, and problems with identity. Athletes are known to set expectations on themselves but at some point, it can become detrimental to their physical and mental health. Student-athletes also have to balance their practices and games with their studies which causes burnout and feeling overwhelmed. Similarly, athletes often put so much into a sport that they don’t know who they are outside of it. 

Many years ago when I sat down to watch the 2019 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, I had no idea what would end up happening to Stanford goalie Katie Meyer. Katie Meyer was Stanford’s starting goalie and team captain, and she most notably made two vital saves during a penalty shootout against the University of North Carolina in 2019. Her friends and family described Meyer as full of life and laughter, and this was always reflected in her game. By watching just one of her games you could see Meyer’s personality. She celebrated every save like it was her last, she put everything on the line for her team and her school. And yet when it came down to it, the school didn’t support her when she needed it. 

On March 1, 2022, Katie Meyer was sent a six-page email regarding Stanford’s community standards. She was sent a disciplinary letter after she had been accused of spilling coffee on a fellow Stanford athlete in defense of one of her teammates who he had allegedly sexually assaulted. In this letter, she was threatened with possible expulsion from Stanford or sanctions on her playing on the women’s soccer team. Meyer’s parents claimed that these actions from administrators caused the rapid change in Meyer’s mental state. On that same night, Katie Meyer was found dead in her dorm room.

Meyer was full of potential. Her teammates Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma, play on the United States Women’s National Team. No one knows what Katie Meyer could have achieved and never will, because the systems in place to support student-athletes are lousy and unbecome. Teams spend so much time, energy, and money towards fueling and supporting them physically but the second they need help mentally, they are nowhere to be found. Since their daughter’s death, her parents have pushed for universities to prioritize the mental health of all students, including the athletes. 

The Katie Meyer Law was passed in January of 2024, the law legally binds schools to prioritize the mental health of all students. The schools are required to have an outside advisor available for students when dealing with disciplinary actions. The idea behind this law is that students facing disciplinary action don’t have to face the panel or board full of people in power alone.  Oftentimes the people who decide punishments are very intimidating and make it hard for you to make your point, so having someone with you who understands what is going on makes it easier to maneuver the environment. The law has been passed in California and they are working on passing it in other states. According to the Katie’s Save website If you want to support the cause or learn more please visit Katie’s Save website run by her family. 

Situations like Katie Meyer’s teach us the importance of mental health support for all students, specifically student-athletes. Meyer’s  memory will live on in all of her teammates, family, and friends, but also in the people who her story will affect. Her family has used their loss to help others in similar situations and their efforts will not be wasted.