During the opening match of the U.S. Women’s World Cup against Vietnam, Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma paid tribute to their former Stanford teammate, Katie Meyer, who died by suicide last year. After scoring her second goal against Vietnam, Smith mimicked zipping her lips closed, a gesture Meyer had used after her first penalty save in Stanford’s 2019 NCAA championship.
Girma was one of Meyer’s closest friends. She wrote a tribute to Meyer for The Players’ Tribune at the start of the World Cup. “Na (Naomi) and I talked about it before the game, and we were like ‘What can we do for Katie?’ And it was pretty iconic: what she did in the College Cup. We just wanted to honor her in every way. So that was for Katie,” Smith said.
The U.S. team won its first match at the World Cup, 3-0. Smith finished with a pair of goals. The U.S. team’s next game is against the Netherlands in Wellington.
As both personal injury bloggers and sports enthusiasts, we frequently discuss the impact of personal loss and the importance of mental health awareness in sports. This tribute to Meyer is a powerful reminder of the struggles athletes can face off the field. We commend these players for using their platform to honor their friend and raise awareness about mental health issues.