10-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
New ‘E:60' documentary looks at the suicide of Stanford's Katie Meyer
On Saturday morning, ESPN aired a new 'E:60' episode exploring the tragic death by suicide of Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer, and the legal and emotional aftermath, including her family's lawsuit against the university.
Meyer was the 22-year-old captain for the Stanford women's soccer team who helped the program win a national title in 2019. On March 1, 2022, she was found dead in her dorm room, the day after learning she faced possible expulsion from the school due to a disciplinary matter. Her parents, Gina and Steve, have said they were unaware of that potential discipline and believe Stanford was 'negligent and reckless,' resulting in Meyer's death.
Her parents are the central voices of the episode. The 46-minute documentary was reported by Julie Foudy, a two-time Olympic soccer gold medalist and U.S. Women's National Team player who has produced previous features with ESPN. It was directed and produced by former Pepperdine soccer player Jennifer Karson-Strauss.
Requests for comment from Stanford's athletic department and the women's soccer team were not returned to the Chronicle. The university also declined to provide anyone for the 'E:60' episode, other than a communications representative who responded to emailed questions.
'They had a choice to participate,' Karson-Strauss said. 'We gave them notice six months to a year in advance, sent them 10 questions, and gave them almost two weeks to respond. … It's their choice.'
If you need help
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call the free 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing '988' 24 hours a day or text 'HOME' to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor anytime.
Meyer's parents filed a lawsuit eight months following her death, alleging that Stanford mishandled communication with Meyer after the school issued a disciplinary action against her for allegedly spilling hot coffee on a football player at the school who was accused of sexually assaulting one of her teammates. The case will go to trial April 13, 2026, according to the Santa Clara County Superior Court of California docket.
The show opens with Katie's own voice from her podcast, 'Be the Mentality,' where she spoke to her 76,000 Instagram followers. Her father, Steve, was her first and only guest on Feb. 13, 2022. She never recorded another episode.
Later in the 'E: 60' episode, Steve explained how he struggled to process her death.
'I was on the phone with her the night before, and she seemed great,' Steve said. 'She was driven to graduate from there. That didn't happen.'
He added that she left a note where she said she was 'so, so scared,' and he saw the five-page email Katie received from Stanford's Office of Community Standards on Feb. 28 — the night before her death — that said the school would withhold her diploma for three months and she faced possible suspension.
According to the lawsuit, Katie 'immediately responded to the email,' saying she was 'shocked and distraught' by the charges and the threat of suspension.
'Maybe a university takes a second look at the way that they're handling their own disciplinary cases,' Karson-Strauss said. The director told the Chronicle she hopes there might be an impact from this documentary. 'I think my hope is just that, that it creates conversations, even if they're uncomfortable conversations.'
The Meyers' complaint further alleges that '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.'
In a statement to 'E: 60,' Stanford said that the mental health professionals that Meyer had been seeing did not believe she was at risk of suicide, and that she had not authorized the disclosure of details from those sessions.
'It hurts my heart that they're marching down this road when we've lost our daughter,' Steve said.
The episode also highlights Steve and Gina's nonprofit, Katie's Save, and how they helped pass a California bill that requires an advisor for any student in a disciplinary process. They called it 'Katie Meyer's Law.' The California state legislature unanimously passed AB1575. Steve and Gina now hope to see it enacted at the federal level.
As Karson-Strauss put it, 'They've just put so much into trying to make a difference for other families … because their pain was and is so great, and they don't want any other family to feel that.'
