Last spring, the women’s soccer community was rocked by the news that Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer died by suicide. It catalyzed the mental health conversations already circling through college athletics into action. It begs the question: what are colleges and universities doing to care about mental health, and are they doing enough?
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), approximately 30% of female student-athletes and 25% of male student-athletes report having anxiety.
Another survey found that less than half of both female and male student-athletes felt comfortable reaching out to on-campus mental health services.
Only 10% seek of athletes who know they have mental health problems seek out help, according to the ACSM.
Currently, the Meyer family is in the process of suing Stanford University for the wrongful death of their daughter, pointing to the way colleges and universities have an essential role in proactively caring about student-athletes mental health. They also founded the organization Katie’s Save, which sets out to make mental health resources for college students more practical and accessible.
Meyer was a senior at Stanford, studying international relations with a minor in history. She was involved on campus as a Resident…
