Stanford wants Katie Meyer’s former teammates to divulge personal information

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Stanford wants emails and text messages from soccer star Katie Meyer’s former teammates, who created a timeline around her suicide and sent it to Meyer’s parents, court records show. The demand comes as Stanford responds to a lawsuit brought by Meyer’s parents who contend harsh discipline by the university led to their daughter’s suicide.

Naomi Girma, 24, and Sierra Enge, 25, were already interviewed under oath for the lawsuit against Stanford.

But Stanford’s attorney Stacie Kinser filed motions earlier this month asking a judge to order Enge and Girma to release more documents, including the timeline, and to answer more questions.

“This result could have been avoided if Ms. Girma’s counsel did not withhold the timeline and assert baseless objections on Ms. Girma’s behalf,” Kinser said in one of the motions. Enge, Girma and Meyer were best friends, Kinser said. They played soccer together for three years and won a national championship in 2019.

Girma, a center back, graduated in 2021 and was the first overall pick in the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League draft.

Girma won a gold medal in the 2024 Olympics and in January signed a record-breaking $1 million deal with Chelsea Football Club in London.

Enge was a captain with Meyer on the 2022 team that won a Pac-12 Championship. She was the 13th pick in the 2023 draft and now plays as a midfielder for a professional league in France.

Meyer faced possible discipline

Meyer, the goalie, was facing discipline for allegedly spilling hot coffee on a football player who kissed her freshman teammate in August 2021.

Stanford sent Meyer an email at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2022, indicating that her degree would be put on hold, and that the charge could result in her being expelled.

Meyer, trying to get into law school, was found dead in her dorm the next morning.

Meyer’s parents sued Stanford in November 2022, alleging the university knew its discipline process was harsh and unfair.

Kinser has accused the Meyers of deleting text messages, altering audio recordings and putting too much pressure on Meyer to succeed.

“At this stage, Stanford cannot simply take (the Meyers’) word that no relevant data has been irrevocably destroyed,” Kinser said in a briefing filed in November.

The case has roped in dozens of Stanford officials, including former football coach David Shaw and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.

Attorney Kimberly Dougherty, representing the Meyers, has criticized Kinser for taking seven hours to interview Girma on Nov. 15.

At the start of the deposition, Kinser “intentionally wasted time on topics of no relevance to this matter,” Dougherty said in a motion.

At the end, Kinser presented “the most traumatic of exhibits … that was completely unnecessary to address the questions presented,” Dougherty said, asking for advance notice of the exhibits next time.

Kinser deposed Enge in San Diego on Dec. 19, court records show.

Transcripts and quotes from their depositions were redacted from Stanford’s motions filed on March 3.

Kinser is asking for a second deposition, specifically about the timeline created in March 2022.

Dougherty said the timeline is subject to attorney-client privilege because it was sent to her.

The next hearing is on April 15 with Judge Frederick Chung.

Stanford wants to delay trial

Stanford has asked for more time before a trial.

“We just think it’s a bit premature at this point,” Kinser told Chung in August.

Dougherty said she didn’t want to wait until 2027.

Chung said a trial in late 2025 or early 2026 “would be reasonable to target.”

Previous stories

• March 3, 2022 — Stanford soccer star found dead in dorm room