Katie Meyer

Kathryn Diane Meyer (January 20, 2000 – March 1, 2022) was an American soccer player who played as goalkeeper for the Stanford University's women's soccer team.

Early life
Meyer was born in Burbank, California, and grew up in Newbury Park, California, with her parents Steven Meyer and Gina Meyer. Kathryn Meyer was a middle child with older sibling Samantha, and younger sibling Siena. In 2015, she was featured in the Soccer Superstar reality show on Nickelodeon.

High school (2014–2018)
Meyer attended Newbury Park High School for her first three years of high school before transferring to Century Academy in Thousand Oaks, California for her senior year. During her time at Newbury Park High School, she was also the kicker for the varsity football team for two seasons. In addition to her school team, she played for club teams Real So Cal and Eagles Soccer Club, as well as the U16 girls' national team.

Stanford University
On October 10, 2015, Meyer committed to playing college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal. She began at Stanford University in 2018. She redshirted during her freshman year, and played her first season for the team in 2019. She played a critical role in the 2019 College Cup championship game against the University of North Carolina as Stanford won in a penalty shootout. Meyer was recognized as the MVP of the match and video of her goalkeeping went viral. She was a team captain in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Meyer was pursuing a degree in international relations with a minor in history. She was part of the 2022 cohort for the selective Mayfield Fellows Program which develops Stanford students to lead technology ventures.

International career
Meyer was named to the United States national under-16 team in 2015.

Death
Meyer passed away in her dorm room in Crothers Hall, a residential housing building on the Stanford campus, on March 1, 2022. When asked about the situation surrounding her death, Meyer's mother said that she had received an email about disciplinary action, and that "She had been getting letters for a couple months... This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This was the only thing we can come up with that triggered something." Meyer, who had no legal representation in the action and suffered from anxiety and depression, received the email in the evening while on the phone with Stanford teammate and future U.S. National Team player Naomi Girma.

Dee Mostofi, the Stanford Assistant Vice President, stated "We [the Stanford University administration] are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters". A statement by Santa Clara County on March 3, 2022, stated that the coroner's office determined the death to be "self-inflicted", with "no indication of foul play".

The Meyer family filed a wrongful death suit against Stanford on November 23, 2022 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The suit reported that Meyer had been "facing disciplinary action for allegedly spilling coffee on a Stanford football player who was accused of sexually assaulting a female soccer player. Meyer's father said his daughter was defending that teammate, who was a minor at the time." The complaint was through the Stanford Office of Community Standards and possible sanctions included having her diploma withheld. It was reported that Meyer was hoping to attend Stanford Law School after graduating.

In 2024, California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1575, or Katie Meyer's Law, introduced by Assembly member Jacqui Irwin. Now moving onto the State Senate, the bill requires an outside adviser for a college student facing a disciplinary issue.

Honors
Stanford Cardinal
 * Pac-12 champion: 2019
 * NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2019

Individual
 * College Cup All-Tournament Team: 2019
 * United Soccer Coaches All-West-Region: 2019 (third team)
 * Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll: 2019, 2020–21
 * CoSIDA Academic All-District-8: 2021