Gina and Steve Meyer, parents of late Stanford soccer star Katie Meyer, want to do what they can to prevent other students from taking their own lives.
On May 31, the Meyers and the parents of Arlana Miller, Morgan Rodgers and Tyler Hilinski—student-athletes who also died by suicide—appeared on Today to remember their children and share an important message about asking for help.
"The easy thing to do would be to stay home and cry all day," Steve said, referencing why it's important for them to be speaking out on the NBC show. "That's the easy way. We have to step up and try to help in any way we can."
On March 1, Katie died by suicide in her Stanford campus residence. Her parents believe she was "triggered" by an email she had received about facing punishment from the university for "defending a teammate on campus over an incident" prior to her death.
The goalkeeper's mother told Today's Stephanie Gosk that "there were no red flags" that could've warned them that their daughter was thinking about taking her own life or dealing with any type of mental health issues.
"When your kids go away to college, you are in the dark," Gina said. "You do not get any information regarding your children." Steve added that they would've "stepped in" if they knew anything was wrong with Katie.
Now, the Meyers are pushing to implement change through their organization Katie's Save, which is a university policy that requires schools to send an email to someone the student chooses if they are prescribed medication by a mental health professional, hospitalized for a physical injury or facing academic probation. Students can choose to opt-out of the agreement at any time.
"A lot of people know her as a soccer player, and she was so much more than that," Steve Meyer told Today. "She was a brilliant student, charismatic speaker; she had incredible opportunities coming her way in that realm away from soccer."
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