According to ESPN, the parents of former Stanford University soccer goaltender Katie Meyer have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office ruled the 22-year-death old’s a suicide on March 4, CBS 17 previously reported. However, new information emerged Thursday after her parents filed a lawsuit against the university.
Meyer led the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA College Cup championship game, which they won on penalty kicks, 5-4.
Meyer’s parents previously discussed how “potential disciplinary action by the school may have triggered something for their daughter” on the Today Show.
“The lawsuit claims that Stanford ‘negligently and recklessly’ sent her the formal disciplinary notice on the night of her death, which ‘contained threatening language regarding sanctions and potential removal from the university,” ESPN reported Thursday.
Meyer, according to ESPN, was “facing disciplinary action for allegedly spilling coffee on a Stanford football player who was accused of sexually assaulting a female soccer player.”
Meyer’s parents claimed that Stanford’s disciplinary action against their daughter was the cause of her death.
According to the lawsuit, “Stanford’s after-hours disciplinary charge, as well as the reckless nature and manner of submission to Katie, caused Katie to suffer an acute stress reaction that impulsively led to her suicide.” “Katie committed suicide without any planning and solely in response to the shocking and deeply distressing information she received from Stanford while alone in her room with no support or resources.”
Meyer was discovered dead in her dorm room, and an autopsy later confirmed that she had committed suicide.
According to ESPN, a Stanford spokesperson has issued a statement in response to the Meyer family lawsuit: “The Stanford community mourns Katie’s tragic death and sympathizes with her family for the unimaginable pain Katie’s death has caused them.” However, we strongly oppose any claim that the university is to blame for her death. While we have not yet seen the formal complaint filed by the Meyer family, we are aware of some of the allegations contained in the filing that are false and misleading,” Dee Mostofi stated.