Katie Meyer’s Lasting Legacy

Summary

Podcast Summary: Welcome to the Party

Episode: Katie Meyer’s Lasting Legacy
Date: March 3, 2026
Hosts: Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach, with Billie Jean King (regular guest)
Featured Guests: Steve and Gina Meyer (parents of Katie Meyer)

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Overview

This powerful episode marks the four-year anniversary of Stanford goalkeeper and NCAA champion Katie Meyer’s passing. Hosts Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach sit down with Katie’s parents, Steve and Gina Meyer, to discuss her legacy, the recent settlement with Stanford University, the creation and status of Katie Meyer’s Law, and their tireless advocacy for student-athlete mental health. The episode is both a celebration of Katie’s life and a call to action for mental health reform in collegiate sports.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Commemorating Katie Meyer

• Katie Meyer, senior captain of the Stanford women’s soccer team, died by suicide in March 2022.
• Julie and Abby reflect on her vibrant personality, athletic prowess, leadership, and impact on those around her.
• Katie was applying to Stanford Law, a Defense Innovative Scholar, taught at Stanford, and was widely considered a future leader.

Julie Foudy [29:16]: "It was the hardest story by a mile that I've ever done in my 25 years of telling stories... Their inspiration and motivation to keep going was to turn that pain into purpose."

2. Katie’s Legacy and the E60 Documentary

• Julie details the making of the “Save: The Katie Meyer Story” documentary (available on ESPN+ and YouTube).
• The documentary was crafted with care, initially using Katie's own words and voice to bring her story to life.

Julie Foudy [28:33]: "We really wanted people to hear from Katie and her own words and her own voice."

3. Parents’ Journey: From Grief to Advocacy

• Steve and Gina share their ongoing process of grieving, noting the healing presence of their grandchildren and family support.
• The lawsuit against Stanford (for wrongful death/negligence) was resolved in January 2026, with Stanford agreeing to changes and initiatives in Katie’s name but not admitting liability.

Gina Meyer [35:53]: "I finally took a breath... The litigation was really heavy. It was really hard. And to have a resolution... to have a good, like, resolution—like what we had wanted... it was a big relief."

• The settlement resulted in:
  • Creation of a mental health and well-being initiative for Stanford student-athletes.
  • A Katie Meyer Leadership Award.
  • Adoption of the principles of Katie Meyer’s Law at Stanford.
  • Retirement of Katie’s jersey number (#19).
• Steve and Gina emphasize the importance of moving from a narrative focused solely on Katie's tragic passing toward a celebration of how she lived.

Steve Meyer [36:33]: "...to finally put the swords down and leave behind... the battle over how she passed away and for us to try to celebrate how she lived."

4. Katie Meyer’s Law Explained

• Purpose: Ensures students undergoing disciplinary action have the right to an independent advocate/advisor—someone of their choosing, not necessarily a parent or school staff.
• Current Status: Law in California for public institutions; Stanford (as a private university) is voluntarily adopting the principles.
• Goal: Federalize Katie Meyer’s Law to all states and public institutions, ensuring student support nationwide.
• How Listeners Can Help:
  • Head to katiesave.org for easy-to-use templates to email/call representatives supporting federalization.
  • Already adopted by the University of Colorado system; efforts ongoing in Connecticut and elsewhere.

Steve Meyer [44:13]: "...if they find themselves in an administrative conflict... they will be encouraged to choose somebody outside of the university who will be informed on day one... and be informed on a bi-weekly basis as to the state of the case."

5. Call to Action

• Party People (listeners) urged to help by:
  • Contacting their reps via katiesave.org.
  • Donating to Katie Save Foundation.
  • Amplifying the message for federal mental health reform in colleges.
• Not a partisan issue; needs broad bipartisan support.

Steve Meyer [48:08]: "People watching this podcast. It's going to take you about four minutes... here's how you can help. And it's going to be on our website on katiesave.org"

6. Memories of Katie & Impact

• Both parents thank Abby and Julie for the influence they and the USWNT had on Katie’s life, specifically her confidence, boldness, and competitive spirit.
• They recount her fearless, sometimes polarizing on-field energy—and how what was once criticized is now more accepted for women athletes.
• Abby shares how advocacy and storytelling keep lost loved ones alive in spirit.

Abby Wambach [51:14]: “Having this story out there keeps her alive in spirit. Right. And doing the best that you can with the worst situation a parent can ever be handed... you all are doing what you need to do in order to kind of make that true for yourselves, but also saving other people in the process.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Underrepresentation in History:
  Julie Foudy [01:50]: “Women are featured in less than 15% of all history taught in the United States.”
  Abby Wambach [03:41]: “I’m hoping for 50%, right? Like, what the ever living hell.”

• On Moving Forward:
  Steve Meyer [36:33]: “It was nice, I guess, to be able to finally put the swords down and... celebrate how she lived.”

• On Support Through Hardship:
  Gina Meyer [34:21]: "...the grandkids come into your heart and they do some healing in there... It came at the right time, when we really needed it."

• Advice to Parents:
  Gina Meyer [62:21]: "Love on your kids, no matter what. Like, no matter what... just listen to them. How can I help you?" Steve Meyer [63:16]: "We know that she knew. We loved her endlessly."

• On Loss and Support:
  Steve Meyer [63:36]: "...if you’re in a place where it’s dark... try to share somehow, some way... the world is so much better with you in it."

• On Mental Health Equity:
  Gina Meyer [66:47]: "Physical health and mental health are equal. They need to be equal."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:50] – Stats on women in history, and the importance of representation.
• [20:00-28:30] – Introduction to the Katie Meyer story and the making of the documentary.
• [32:32-37:37] – Steve and Gina Meyer discuss life after loss, the impact of the settlement, and relief after a long legal fight.
• [41:05-45:56] – Explanation of Katie Meyer’s Law and its implications for student-athlete well-being.
• [47:18-50:30] – How listeners can help federalize Katie Meyer’s Law; steps taken in other states.
• [51:14-54:13] – Reflections on Katie’s legacy, the importance of talking about those lost, and tribute to Katie’s spirit.
• [62:21-67:29] – Advice for parents and young people, importance of unconditional support and mental health conversations.

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Flow and Tone

The tone is intimate, compassionate, and deeply empathetic. The hosts and guests frequently express admiration and gratitude, balancing heavy discussions about loss and reform with hope and calls for collective action. The conversation is candid, supportive, and filled with warmth—even as it grapples with immense grief.

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Additional Resources

• Watch the Documentary:
  “Save: The Katie Meyer Story” – Available on ESPN+ or YouTube.

• Get Involved:
  katiesave.org – For petitions, resources, and donation opportunities.

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Conclusion

This episode is a deeply moving testament to channeling grief into action, the ongoing fight for student-athlete mental health, and the lasting impact of Katie Meyer’s spirit. Steve and Gina Meyer model resilience and actionable hope, urging every listener to join in making colleges safer and more compassionate places for young athletes. The legacy of Katie Meyer—and her family's mission—reminds us that love should always lead our responses to adversity.

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For Further Listening

• Party People, take action! Visit katiesave.org to support Katie Meyer’s Law.
• Watch the full documentary for additional context and testimony from Katie’s life and impact.
• Follow Welcome to the Party Show on Instagram and YouTube for more updates and episodes.

Transcript

[Steve Meyer]

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[Abby Wambach]

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[Julie Foudy]

the hardest story by a mile that I've ever done in my 25 years of telling stories.

[Abby Wambach]

Having this story out there keeps her alive.

[Steve Meyer]

It was nice to be able to finally put the swords down and for us to try to celebrate how she lived. Loved you. She loved that like big energy.

[Gina Meyer]

All the badassness. I mean some of that badassness and boldness came from watching you.

[Abby Wambach]

Attention. The party is about to commence.

[Julie Foudy]

Welcome to the party. What's up party people? I'm Julie Foudy.

[Abby Wambach]

And I'm Abby Wambach. Hi Jules.

[Julie Foudy]

Happy Abigail. Happy Women's History Month. How about that? We're already to march.

[Abby Wambach]

Here we are.

[Julie Foudy]

And almost International Women's Day, which is on March 8th. I had a stat given to me from my amazing friend Chris Macel Simons, who I played with at Stanford on the soccer team. And she's like got her PhD. All my Stanford friends are so smart. PhD in marine biology. She's a doctor, Dr. Simons. And she always is. She's a big listener of the pod. Hi Chris. Thanks for listening. And she's always sending these amazing stats because she does a lot of work with the LIDA Hill foundation in STEM and STEM research and getting more women into stem. And so she gave me the stat I wanted to read because it's really good. It says, according to a study by the National Women's History Museum, women are featured in less than 15% of all history taught in the United States.

[Abby Wambach]

What?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, I'm just going to read that again, party people. According to a study by the National Women's History Museum, women are featured in less than 15% of all history taught in the United States.

[Abby Wambach]

Okay, I just have a couple things to say on this. How can this be true? I mean I. It makes sense. But we're the ones that make humanity happen. Great point. We're having babies. How can.

[Julie Foudy]

What would you do without us?

[Abby Wambach]

Sincerely.

[Julie Foudy]

We wouldn't have human beings.

[Abby Wambach]

The reason why there is history is because of women.

[Julie Foudy]

We should be 85% of it and men should be 15%. What the fuck?

[Abby Wambach]

I mean, let's even. Just like I'm hoping for 50%, right? Like, what the ever living hell. Wow. I.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay.

[Abby Wambach]

I don't even. I don't even want to. I can't even. Knowledge is power, they say. But this is pissing me off. Go on.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay. And she went on to say. Chris went on to say that the National Women's History Museum produced these really effective PSA style reels last year. One of them is called she is Not a Footnote.

[Abby Wambach]

Great. Yeah. Well, clearly she's literally not in the history books. Right.

[Julie Foudy]

Good title and love it. There's another one that captures and talks about the 15 statistic. And this is all in the show notes the links to these videos. Another great video she mentioned is about men getting credit for STEM discoveries by women, which we know happens a lot. Okay, Happy Women's History Month. And let's be more than 15%.

[Abby Wambach]

I'm depressed.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. That is depressing Time for things to change. Okay. And less depressing news on I'm. I have been on the road for she Believes cup. I. Well, this actually is. Isn't very happy news. But I woke up. It's not depressing, but I woke up to a snowstorm in Columbus, Ohio this morning. I was like. I looked outside, I was like, what is happening? I'm a California kid and I don't. I haven't even gone outside. I don't know if I will. I'll be.

[Abby Wambach]

But it's kind of fun to be there. It's for a very short period of time. And you were just in Nashville with the national team and you got. Did you take the hat that Emma gave you with you?

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, so we all got to the airport last night because we raced out to get to Columbus. I never love leaving Nashville because it's such a great city, but I wanted to get here so that I was settled for the pod recording this morning. And we all went. Wait, we didn't grab our hats, y'.

[Gina Meyer]

All.

[Julie Foudy]

So the hats are secure. We're gonna get them. Yeah. Emma Hayes was great. Cowboy hats were fabulous. What I love about Emma is she pops into these cities and she usually is with Harry, her son. He wasn't with her this trip, but she sure she does. And takes the time to really discover like what's cool about that city. She's like, I love that about America. I'm learning all these new cities.

[Abby Wambach]

That's amazing. I did see and this balance I did see on on IG that she went to the Grand Ole Opry and did something and introduced somebody there that was kind of cool.

[Julie Foudy]

Right? So Trinity though, with her injury, I tried to get an update on that. This will run Tuesday. We are recording on Monday just after the game. And so as of Monday, our Monday recording, there is no update on the injury yet. But I'm sure we will know more by the time this airs on Tuesday. And let's just say let's hope she's okay because she had a knee to the back from an Argentine defender and could was visibly upset and in pain. And so she did walk off at the end of the game. So that's good. She didn't come back on and play because we were already into stoppage time, but hopefully Trent is okay. Also coming up, Abigail, four years after Katie Meyer's passing, she is the Stanford goalkeeper senior captain of the Stanford women's soccer team who died by suicide in 2022. So it's been four years since her passing. Her parents, Stephen, Gina Meyer, sit down with us and talk about Katie's legacy, the law that is in her name now and the settlement and moving forward with Stanford University. But first, let's get you updated on what's happening in women's sports. It's time for our party starter. The highlights, shake ups and headlines you'll want to celebrate this week in women's sports. This party starter is brought to you by Ally the bank that is your Ally. And yeah, great news on Ally Bank Abs. You want to give it?

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, I'm gonna give it. And I'm gonna say welcome to the long term party, Ally.

[Gina Meyer]

What'?

[Abby Wambach]

Yes. We are officially going to be with Ally for many years and we're very excited. We love, we love what they.

[Julie Foudy]

We love a long term party.

[Abby Wambach]

We do love a long term party. We love when the party never ends is what we love, Jules. So thank you to all the people who made that work and Andrea Brimmer over there at Ally. We are really excited to keep to, to, to stay in the family and to build deeper relationship with y'. All. Um, but turning to to sports basketball update here, Athletes Unlimited Championship Athletes Unlimited pro basketball crowned its champion Sunday night in Nashville. Where you were there, Jules.

[Julie Foudy]

I was in Nashville. It was at the same time as Our game. Is that so crazy? I was like, oh my gosh, how do we not get this right? So yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

And if you're new, Jules to AU as they call it, it's a different formatted league, right? A player driven league where athletes earn individual points for team wins and personal performances with rosters then reshuffled each week. Okay. And one overall. It's, it's, it's really interesting. And then there's one overall champion at the end of the season. This year's field featured WNBA players like Tina Charles, Alicia. Alicia Clark, Kia Nurse and Odyssey Sims. And after the final game on Sunday, the winner. Drum roll please. Odyssey Sims has played in all five seasons and finally wins it all.

[Julie Foudy]

Awesome.

[Abby Wambach]

I'm so pumped for for Sims and she's finished the season with 6,764 leader board points and 11 game MVP awards, averaging 26.2 points per contest. Also party people, AU has basketball, volleyball, lacrosse and softball next up. So which is going to start in June and we are really excited about that. More basketball unrivaled season number two will crown a champion this week.

[Julie Foudy]

We're recording this everywhere.

[Abby Wambach]

Yep. We're recording this before Monday night semifinal at the Barclays center in Brooklyn. The league taking its postseason on the road just for the semis, which I think is actually super smart and really

[Julie Foudy]

fun in Philadelphia when they did that in the regular season.

[Abby Wambach]

Yep, exactly. So by the time you're listening to this, we'll already know who's headed to the Wednesday championship game back in Miami for the semis though the the Phantom and Mist earned buys Breeze and Vinyl earned their spots and there's a 600000 prize pool on the line. Jules. So okay, check out the action and the championship game Wednesday night on TNT at 6:30 Pacific Time, 3:30 Eastern Time.

[Julie Foudy]

Guess what? That follows. So this is a good night of of women's sports that follows the U.S. women's National Team taking on Canada in the she believes cup which is also on TNT right before that. So.

[Abby Wambach]

And you might be calling that game.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, you should just plop on your couch for a good four hours and watch it all. Five hours with pre games. Okay, Paralympics party people. We know that the Winter Olympics has wrapped up, but team USA is not done. The Paralympics get started at the end of the week in Milano Cortina again March 6th through the 15th. So we've got 10 days, 665 athletes, 79 metal events across six sports. And I didn't know this abs but this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Winter Paralympic Games back in 76. Yeah, that's cool. A couple big stars to keep an eye on. Oksana Masters, who is awesome and a friend. She is the USA para cross country and para biathlon athlete. She was born. She's an incredible story. Born in the Ukraine, affected by the aftermath of Chernobyl with radiation related limb differences. She was adopted then by a single American mom. And her story is extraordinary. Her resume is extraordinary. She's the most decorated US Winner paralympian of all time. And she's also won multiple summer Paralympic medals in rowing and cycling. It's crazy. So after missing all of last season, unfortunately, with a bone infection and then undergoing hand surgery last summer, she's back and already earning World cup podiums, now chasing even more history in Milan Cortina. So, on Instagram, she did talk about learning to channel her anger into what her mindset coach calls positive mad. I like that. I like that.

[Abby Wambach]

I'm going to borrow that positive mad. That is exactly what I used to do. Yes.

[Julie Foudy]

Positive mad. Take. Take that rage and that fury. I hear Glennon talk about this all the time. Take that rage and that fury and turn it into something positive. Positive mad. Positive rage. And how to flip that competitive switch on and off. She talks about. Another athlete I'm excited to watch heading into these Games is USA para snowboarder Brenna Huckabee. She's a three time Paralympic champion and the defending gold medalist in snowboard cross abs. She lost her right leg above the knee to osteosarcoma at age 14. She transitioned from gymnastics into snowboarding at into snowboarding during rehab. And she's turned that journey into one of the most dominant careers in the sport. So this Paralympic Games could make her the most decorated woman in para snowboard history. She also happens to be a mom of two young girls. Yes. So let's go, Brenna. We're going to be cheering for you, Oksana, and all the Paralympic athletes.

[Abby Wambach]

All right, Jules, we want to do a little bit of a hockey update. Hillary Knight, I think that you probably saw it speaking up at the Seattle Torrent press conference addressing the laughter incident with the president and the men's hockey team. Can we play this clip? I just thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate, and I think, you know, just the way women are represented. It's a great teaching point to really shine light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats. And now I have to sort of sit and anybody has to sit in front of you and explain someone else's behavior. It's not my responsibility. So it is not their responsibility. And obviously, Jules, you and I had big feelings and thoughts about this. And if you haven't listened to that episode, there was a bonus episode that we put out talking about our feelings about it. The USA women, they skip the White House, and instead they're going to be partnering with Flavor Flavor at the she Got game weekend in July 16th to the 19th in Las Vegas. And one thing I love about Flavor Flav, because he's. He. He is. I just. Where did he come from with this love for women's sports? I don't know. So great. But what I do know is he is such an advocate because now they're getting so much interest from the corporate world, right? Trying to fly people in, going. And he's like, hey, what you need to do is endorse these women athletes. And I think that that was one of the most important things that I've heard him say is like, don't just give them a good time. Like, give them the resources where they can pay their bills and their mortgage.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. He literally said, don't just give them the swag.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly.

[Julie Foudy]

Give them the bag.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. Now Olympic hockey interest is obviously surging and has a place to land for the first time for the women.

[Julie Foudy]

We talk. We heard Ken Kendall, Coyne Schofield talking about this when she was on our podcast prior to the Olympics. Like, it's so nice that now we actually have something that people can watch after the Olympics, which they had never had before.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly. The PWHL obviously, is where they will land. So many of the women who are competing in the Olympics played and do currently play in the pwhl. Seattle Torrent had their first ever sellout. It set a record for the largest attendance at 17,335 for a women's hockey game in a U.S. arena and the highest attended primary home venue game in PWHL history. Now, hockey players from both teams, they were on SNL with SNL host Connor Story, who of course we know played the Russian hockey player Ilya Rosenov in heated rivalry. Now, Hillary Knight and Megan Keller said, well, it was just going to be us, but we decided to invite the men too, right? To kind of flip the joke on its head. Jack and Quinn Hughes brothers were also on snl. I'm sure that a lot of people had a lot of feelings about that, but I think in general, you know, Hillary and. And Megan killed it because I know how nerve wracking it is to stand on those stages and have the lights on and hit your lines and do all the things. So I'm proud of them. We will get to hear a lot more from Hillary because she and her fiance, fellow Olympian Brittany Bow, are the partiest part of our party this Thursday, folks. Now that's a wrap on the party starter, and thanks to Ally for sponsoring this segment. Ally is more than a bank, and their do it right approach helps customers unlock their economic potential and guide their efforts. As a leading sponsor in women's sports, just like us, Ally believes that when women in sport win, we all have a reason to party. Ally bank member, FDIC and up next,

[Julie Foudy]

Abby the Amazing Steve and Gina Meyer.

[Abby Wambach]

Okay, Jules. Every World Cup, I always think about

[Julie Foudy]

I'm ready for the World Cup, Clearly.

[Abby Wambach]

I always think about how much the city itself becomes part of the experience.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, totally. You remember arriving somewhere at the tournament and you could feel it instantly, like flags everywhere or watch parties, signs, people bonding over matches. It's crazy. I love that when you get to a city and you have that feel.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly. And having a home base made all the difference. We booked a place where everyone could gather before and after games. Snacks were everywhere, replay date debates. It becomes like a little headquarters, Right?

[Julie Foudy]

That is the magic of Airbnb. And now even small families or groups of friends traveling can have that experience. You can cook together, you can hang out in the living room. It feels like your own corner of the celebration, which is fabulous.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. And when, like when big sports moments bring fans into town, they're looking for that same sense of home. So if you're traveling or you just want open your space, you can host your home on Airbnb too.

[Julie Foudy]

You too can create a welcoming spot for fans to experience the excitement, neighborhood energy, game day atmosphere, all of it. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host Jules. Yes, ma'.

[Abby Wambach]

Am. It's the busiest time of the year, clearly. And we gotta break through the busiest time of the year. We do with what our favorite thing is. The new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus. Powered by Peloton iq.

[Gina Meyer]

Yes.

[Abby Wambach]

The new Peloton Cross Training Tread plus is honestly, it's like their most elevated equipment with real time guidance. It has endless ways to move, either alone or with your favorite instructors. We love this thing. It's cross training reimagined with features designed to help you reach your goals. Seemingly effortless.

[Julie Foudy]

I was just gonna say maybe not entirely effortless, but not the point.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly.

[Julie Foudy]

Shouldn't be effortless.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, we gotta be doing effort here. Peloton helps you achieve more in less time. It's all about sustainability, right? And with peloton's features that help you plan, they help you stay motivated, they help you achieve your peak performance. You can let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, walk, go, like, while peloton handles the rest. And I'm the kind of person that needs to be told what to do while working out because it is harder for me to get motivated. Um, and honestly, in the past five,

[Julie Foudy]

it's very hard for you to get motivated for a minute to win it. However, keep going, carry on.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly. Honestly, in the past five or so years of trying all sorts of classes or workouts or fitness trends, nothing has really stuck for me the way that this peloton has. Same as my family. My family. Like it's almost like you walk downstairs to get on the thing and somebody's on it. It's like, now I have to wait. It offers seriously endless ways to train for a well rounded routine. No matter how busy you are, let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread

[Julie Foudy]

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And they shop from places like Safeway and Albertsons and Target and Michaels and Petsmart and even local stores that are specific to your area. So it's not just a one kind of run, it's everything. And I just love how much time it gives me back in my day. The annual ship membership is so worth it. Download the app or order [e-mail] that's S H ipt.com. Abigail I am super excited to Hear from Katie Meyer's parents, Steve and Gina Meyer. I know we were talking about this in a few episodes ago and before we get to them, to Steve and Gina, I want to give the party people some context on who these two amazing humans are because they are just that amazing and really what they've lived through these last four years. So abs, bear with me, party people, bear with me as I want to just give this a little context before we bring them in and a little setup. And for those of you who have not seen the documentary, it's called Save the Katie Meyer Story. We did this with E60 on ESPN. It came out actually in May of last year and I do hope you've seen it or you are going to watch it. It is on ESPN Plus. If you don't have ESPN plus, you can now get it on YouTube. It's not behind a paywall, so you can get it for free on YouTube. Just Google Katie Meyer's story and do the full version. It's 48 plus minutes. And even if you haven't watched it, I hope you'll listen into this episode because there's so much to be learned from Katie's story. First, a little background on Katie Meyer. She was a senior captain of the Stanford women's soccer team in 2022. She was a goalkeeper. She was an NCAA champion. She won in 2019 when she was a red shirt freshman. In 2022, she was applying to Stanford Law School. She was a defense innovative scholar, which is a huge honor to be named that at Stanford. She was a leading. She was actually teaching a design class at Stanford. She was about to. And she was a role model in so many different ways. Everyone talked about how much she just spread joy and light wherever she went. She was, as people would say, their biggest cheerleader. She was a very loyal friend. And, and many even said like one day they thought she would be president of the United States. And not in a joking way. It was like, yeah, she would, she would be president of the United States. She was super tight with her parents, Steve and Gina. She, they would talk about how she would introduce them to everyone on campus when they came for a visit. And she was walking around the school and for someone who by all external measures seemed to have a wonderful life, I think I said already she was applying to Stanford Law School. She was waiting to find out if she got in. It was understandably a shock to all when Katie died by suicide almost exactly four years ago on March 1, 2022. I played at Stanford as well. Many years before her. And I knew her not well. I had interviewed her. I actually called the national championship game that Stanford won in 2019. And we interviewed Katie because she made these incredible saves in the penalty kick ending of that game. And so I was equally shocked, as was the entire Stanford community, about Katie's death and suicide. And I had a lot of questions and stories started coming out about Katie being under disciplinary investigation at Stanford. And so, of course, the questions that go through your mind are why? For what? And I had heard it was because of an incident in which Katie allegedly spilled coffee on a football player accused of sexually assaulting her Stanford soccer teammate. I definitely wanted to know more and dig deeper into Stanford's disciplinary process. And so I called one of the fabulous, most fabulous producers and directors with E60 at ESPN, Jen Carson. We've worked together before on various stories. And I said, I really want to tell this story and tell who Katie is and. And find out more about what happened. And she knew all about it, of course. And so Jen Carson and I then went to Gina and Steve. I didn't know, did not know Gina and Steve. We waited about a year and asked if we could tell Katie's story and show her beyond the national headlines that people had seen about her death. Because we really wanted people to hear from Katie and her own words and her own voice. The first 15, 20 minutes of the documentary. If you've seen it, you may have noticed that it's all in Katie's voice. We wanted her to come to life, and we told that story to Steve and Gina and they graciously, after a lot of conversations, and rightfully so, had some hesitation about it, said, yes, we trust you to tell this story. And it took us, Abby, gosh,

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, it was a beautiful, heart filled, heart wrenching story that you needed to tell. This is like one of those stories, Jules, that I felt like, wow, I'm so proud of my friend who asked hard questions, who had these parents. I mean, this was not an easy thing for you to do. And so the fact that it makes you emotional does not surprise me because this is what this was. This is the hardest stuff to talk about and to deal with. Yeah, and you did it beautifully.

[Julie Foudy]

It took us a year and a half to do. And as you can tell, I will only say it was the hardest story by a mile that I've ever done in my 25 years of telling stories and doing television. Lots of tears, lots of hugging, my kids as I learned more about what happened and lots of emotions. And as I Said, I went to Stanford. I love that school. I love so much about it, as did Katie, as did her family. And so I'll tell you though, Abs, I've never been so impressed by the strength and love and compassion of Steve and Gina Meyer. They could have easily, very easily crawled into a corner and. And just had tears and grief and sorrow. And instead they said over and over again, katie wouldn't want that. Katie wouldn't want us seeing that. And so their inspiration and motivation to keep going was to turn that pain into purpose. And so that and their whole inspiration behind telling her story and starting their foundation called Katie Save, was that so others don't have to go through the same grief that they've experienced. And Stephen, Katie, again, did not want to do this, but felt that they needed to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Stanford University about eight months after Katie's death in November of 2022. And so the Meyer family argued in that lawsuit that Stanford's actions negligently and recklessly contributed to their daughter's distress. Stanford originally took the approach of blaming Stephen Gina Meyer for Katie's death, if you can believe it. And the response to the lawsuit, as you can imagine, Abby, this has been an incredibly hard four years for the entire Meyer family. And that lawsuit, after three years, as we were telling the story of a lot of back and forth, has finally been settled. And thankfully, just over a month ago, the news broke at the end of January of 2026 that finally Stanford, still, without acknowledging any liability, is noticeably changing how their disciplinary procedures function, how they talk about Katie Meyer and her incredible legacy and how they talk about her family. And as Steve said to me, I'm just so glad we can finally put the swords down. And this is a university. As I said that Katie was all in on Stanford. She was considered a role model. The family loved Stanford University. And so I'm just thrilled that they actually can come back together and join that family and now focus most importantly on helping others so they don't have to go through a similar situation.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

So, Steve and Gina, I love you dearly. Thank you for joining us.

[Steve Meyer]

Thank you for having us.

[Gina Meyer]

Thank you.

[Steve Meyer]

Really an honor to be a part of this.

[Julie Foudy]

How are you both?

[Steve Meyer]

Well, I just dropped off the grandkids about 20 minutes ago. We're good. We've had them since 6:20 this morning.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Oh, geez.

[Steve Meyer]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Isn't it the best to just be able to give them back when they're that age?

[Steve Meyer]

Yes, yes. But typically grandparents have them for what, 90 minutes, two hours. And then it's. Here you go. This is.

[Abby Wambach]

Right.

[Steve Meyer]

This is like new parent energy for us. Yeah, it is awesome. But it's. It's a. It's a lot. It's a day. It's a day.

[Gina Meyer]

It's. It's great, though.

[Steve Meyer]

Yes.

[Gina Meyer]

We will not.

[Julie Foudy]

How many. Wait, how many days a week are

[Gina Meyer]

we doing this every day? Five days.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, dang.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Gina Meyer]

Our dog, you know, our oldest is a fourth grade teacher, so she went back to teaching this fall. So we have the kiddos.

[Steve Meyer]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Good for you guys. I know, Glennon.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah. Huge.

[Abby Wambach]

My wife is a. My wife is a. Was a teacher and she couldn't go back to teaching because they couldn't afford daycare. So this is a really important service that you guys are offering her to literally go and have a life of her own and make a way away in the world. That's really, really amazing.

[Gina Meyer]

That's exactly what it was. Abby. You can't afford daycare, especially out here in Los Angeles. I mean, forget it. You know, and teachers we know are underpaid and underappreciated, and they should be making a little more money so they can have kids and go back to work if they want to. You know, that's what she wants to do. So, you know, we definitely want to help out with that. So that's what we're doing. Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

I see your cute pictures you post sometimes and you guys talk about them just, like, so lovingly. I'm like, oh, the gift that they have you two in their lives as well. The. The grandkids. That's so cool to see.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah, it's been a huge blessing. And honestly, like, has brought that bit of joy back. I mean, we've kind of said, like, there's that hole in your heart that will never be replaced. I mean, even by a grandkid. But, you know, the grandkids come into your heart and they do. They do some healing in there. And that has been really good for us. Like, I know that's been really good for us. It came at the right time, you know, when we really needed it.

[Steve Meyer]

So we loved being parents to young children and. And we love being grandparents to young children. And I think after the journey we've been through, it's interesting and almost meditative in a way, to slow your world down and see the world through the eyes of a two year old or a nine month old. It's great.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. So you have Samantha, who's the oldest. You have Sienna, who's the youngest. Katie was Right in the middle. And Sienna, Abby is playing D1 soccer at UCLA right now. And so she's Izzy's class. So Sienna's at UCLA now. Samantha has two young boys. So good to see. I love to hear that news. Tell us about. We, we talked about it off the top as well. The, the lawsuit settling. And really when you heard the news, what was your overriding emotion in that moment?

[Gina Meyer]

I think like I finally took a breath. Like I, I was able to breathe. I had felt like I was carrying this, you know, 50 pound backpack on me. The litigation was really heavy. It was really hard. It was awful. And to have a resolution with Stanford, you know, the school Katie loved, and, and have a good, like, resolution. Like what we had wanted, we wanted them to put Katie Meyer's law in place, make the changes that needed to be made. I mean, it was, I mean, it

[Steve Meyer]

was a big relief. It was a huge relief indeed. Doing some beautiful things going forward to honor her legacy there, to implement the principles of the law. That's definitely going to be a better world for their students there going forward. And it was nice, I guess, to be able to finally put the swords down and leave behind a way, the battle over how she passed away and for us to try to celebrate how she lived.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah, we needed to make that shift because we were, it felt like we were in almost like a holding pattern, if that makes sense. Like we weren't really fully grieving. We weren't able to really grieve. We were, it was just so now to make that shift from why she died, how she died, her death, her death, her debt to how she lived, celebrate her kind of shift that from so negative to, you know, something a little more positive, not only with us

[Steve Meyer]

personally, but for the university themselves.

[Abby Wambach]

Right.

[Steve Meyer]

They're able to.

[Julie Foudy]

Why, why do you think they, they changed their tone? Stanford did.

[Steve Meyer]

I don't know for sure, but I guess I can say there's new people in positions of authority that are going to make a big difference there. How about that?

[Julie Foudy]

Good.

[Steve Meyer]

How about that?

[Gina Meyer]

Some new administration. Fantastic. Like good, good people. Yeah. That I think really. Yeah. Wanted to make a positive change going forward for their students. And we've met some of these people and they are just compassionate, empathetic and want things to go in the right direction. So that was, that was, yeah, part of it for sure.

[Julie Foudy]

That's so good to hear because I know that was just so draining beyond having to deal with all the grief of losing Katie to fight that lawsuit. I'm just, I was happy that that is over for you. Now. I did see on the Office of Community Standards website page for Stanford that Larry Marshall is the interim new director of that disciplinary procedure. OCS is, is obviously the Office of Community Standards at Stanford University that initiated that disciplinary action on Katie. And that is great news because I have heard great things about him. I know you got to meet him. There was just a screening at Stanford recently of the movie and he attended it with Jen Carson who produced, of course, you know, Jen well, the movie for us. And that was good to hear. And he was engaging with the students and talking and so I'm encouraged to hear all of that.

[Gina Meyer]

Larry is, he's incredible. He's incredible. He did something in Chicago, the Innocence Project. He's, he's amazing and he's really turning around, I think that whole OCS department. And yeah, he's, he's really, I think

[Steve Meyer]

the fact that he went to that screening says a lot right there.

[Julie Foudy]

Right. That's what I said to Jen, Trey,

[Steve Meyer]

you know, and he's, he's making some big changes there.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

Yep.

[Steve Meyer]

And passionately and helping behind the scenes spread that law or those principles of that law to other high end universities around the nation. So he's a great ally to have for all of us, but really when it comes down to it, great ally to have for college students. You know, he's amazing.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. And as part of that settlement, as you mentioned, Stanford is going to launch an initiative focused on the mental health and well being of student athletes at Stanford University. They're also going to establish a Katie Meyer Leadership Award to be given to exceptional Stanford student athletes each year. They will, as you mentioned, Steve, adopt the principles of Katie Meyer's Law, which I want to get into with both of you because I want to, we call our listeners the party people. I want to really put a call to action out to the party people to help federalize Katie Meyer's Law. Because right now it's just a California law.

[Gina Meyer]

Right.

[Julie Foudy]

And Stanford didn't have to adopt it because it's a private institution. And right now as legislation stands, it's for public institutions within California, it's law. But they are adopting the principles of Katie Meyer's Law. And, and the fourth thing they did is they're retiring the number one by Katie when she played at Stanford, which was number 19, which I, I thought was really cool to see. So I'm glad they are doing all those things and I'm especially glad that you're able to work with them to actually move this forward. As you said.

[Steve Meyer]

Well, we want to have a collaborative spirit with them going forward.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Steve Meyer]

And yeah, we're really happy about those changes. Really pleased. They have apparently like 300 professors, science, psychology, psychotherapy, medical everything that want to get involved in that athlete mental health piece. They have all kinds of tools to deal with the physical side of being an athlete. And we're going to work together with them and do some brainstorming and they're going to be the experts. We're just Katie's parents. And so anything we say in general comes from being parents. We're not experts in any of these fields.

[Gina Meyer]

And what we learned in therapy, we've learned a lot. Yeah, know.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

Right.

[Steve Meyer]

And they're enthusiastic about doing it and looking at like how a young athlete whose life's work it has been like, we oftentimes use the phrase life's work with a 75 year old. Oh, her life's work was blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or his was, yeah, you know what, when you're 19 and you've qualified to play a sport and be a student at XYZ University and especially perhaps at some highly competitive universities, your life's work has been that. And so when you're faced with a crisis situation, however it comes about that threatens your life's work or your identity, it can be very jarring.

[Gina Meyer]

For an 18, 19 year old, especially, you know, the under 25 set, your brain is not fully developed.

[Julie Foudy]

Right.

[Gina Meyer]

I mean, we've talked about this. They're, they're in that you, they're that conundrum where technically, yes, they're 18 and they're a legal adult and you say, spread your wings girl, go fly. But yet their brain's not fully developed. Right. Because they, that prefrontal cortex, rational decision making, good judgment, not all there. In a, you know, challenging, stressful situation, you go midbrain, you go impulsive, irrational, emotional. So, so this is the tough part of college. Right. So they still need guidance and support. They still, you don't necessarily want them to be going through things just alone.

[Abby Wambach]

Right.

[Gina Meyer]

We all need guidance and support, but these young people do.

[Julie Foudy]

And that really is what Katie Meyer's law is. Right. There is. Can you explain that for those who don't know what it is?

[Steve Meyer]

Sure. Well, first of all, it will always empower them with the option of to not.

[Gina Meyer]

They have choice.

[Steve Meyer]

They have choice.

[Gina Meyer]

They have choice.

[Steve Meyer]

But if they find themselves in an administrative conflict, a code violation, they will be encouraged to choose somebody outside of the university who will be informed on day one. Who will get an education on the resources available at the university, the process to find an appropriate resolution at the university, and also very, very importantly, be informed on a bi weekly update on a bi weekly basis as to the state of the case. They'll be allowed to participate in the process. And we have learned that it can't be more important to have the outside of the university option. There's people inside the university that are great everywhere. Everywhere. But you may encounter somebody inside the university who does not have your. Your best interests at heart or who may not be leading you down the right path. So if you're a young person and you feel most comfortable with either mom or dad, maybe that'd be great. But from the beginning of this, we never had the word parent in any version of the law or the initiative. Along the way, we know not everybody has great relationships with their parents. We would hope a young person would choose a parent, but that's fine if they don't. It could be an aunt, uncle, their high school coach, their favorite science teacher from high school, anybody they choose. And then that person will be pulled in. And then this way they're going to have some support and guidance along the way.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Steve Meyer]

Someone who truly cares about them and that they trust. And it's going to make for a safer process. Certainly, you know, we've lived through an extreme process, but even just the run of the mill, it's administrative conflict. It's just going to make it better.

[Gina Meyer]

It's like any academic probation, substance abuse Title 9 violation, what Katie went through, disciplinary action. I mean, and the, and these happen quite frequently. And these kids are literally scared to death. I mean, they are so. It is so scary when something like this, especially like high achieving, don't get in trouble really often. You know, wrong place, wrong time, whatever that may be. And it is very scary. And it's. If it's threatening their, their scholarship, their soccer, their degree, you know, their life's work, their whole life's work, you know. Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

And, and as I said right now, Katie Meyer's law was signed in by Governor Newsom to become law. And so it is actually law in California. But I know right now the next phase for you all is you want it to be federalized so that every state has Katie Meyers Law, of course, and every public university and institution has to then offer that same independent advisor to these kids who are going through disciplinary action. How. Where are you on that and how can we help with that? Because I think that is fantastic.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

And so needed.

[Steve Meyer]

So do we, and you know, we got so many messages from either students or parents or friends of students around the country, like, this needs to be federalized. My students went through X, Y and Z and so. And so university. And so Julia Brownlee, congresswoman From here in SoCal, she introduced it federally, which was amazing.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah, she's great.

[Steve Meyer]

It is in play right now. But we do need some help. And by we, I mean everybody. Everybody can pitch in. People watching this podcast. It's going to take you about four minutes and a lot of people have said, how can I help? How can I help? Yeah, well, here's how you can help. And it's going to be on our website on katies save.org yeah, it's just.

[Gina Meyer]

And when you go on our website, you can see it's like option one, email your representative. Option two, call your representative. We have a sample email for you that you can copy and paste. We're making it as easy as possible for everyone to do this.

[Steve Meyer]

It's a great big assist, Abby. It's like a ball just floating in on the stick. Here you come. That's what it is right there.

[Gina Meyer]

That's what we're trying to do.

[Steve Meyer]

People just need to head. That's it.

[Gina Meyer]

We do have. We had. So University of Colorado's there. Four campuses did pick it up.

[Steve Meyer]

Yes.

[Gina Meyer]

We have Connecticut working on it. Oh, good.

[Julie Foudy]

So they can do it state by state.

[Steve Meyer]

They could, they could, they can do

[Gina Meyer]

it state by state. It would be faster if it was federal, but we have people who have been working in other states trying to implement it. So we have gotten some traction like that. It would just take a while to get all the states. So this, this obviously would be faster. We have a couple senators that are looking at it. We're hoping we can get someone on the right and someone on the left and come together.

[Julie Foudy]

I wouldn't see this as a partisan issue. I mean, everything seems partisan nowadays. But gosh, if this is a partisan issue, what are we doing?

[Gina Meyer]

Right?

[Steve Meyer]

And the two senators that are looking at it, one is on one side and one is on the other, they

[Gina Meyer]

do want to work together and they may get co sponsorship. So we'll see. We're swinging big. We're trying to take a big swing at it and just, just hope we can get it passed and you know.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, good. Yeah. Okay. I love call to actions for the party people as well. It's so good. Hey, and look at. I'll put my running shoes on. I will, I will go to the Hill. I'll get My boots on. I will march into senators representatives office and start lobbying this for you. If you need some, some boots on the ground.

[Abby Wambach]

Thank you. Yeah. And also I just want to say first of all, you two are incredible. I'm huge, massive fans of you both. And there's just like something that I saw in Katie that I see in myself. And I just wanted you guys to know that she was so brave and her ability, like I could just see that mothering and like the wanting to take care of her teammates. And that's exactly how I approached my teammate Ness and all the teams that I've been on. I don't know, her personality was incredible and you did an incredible job raising her. And you know, I just wanted to say that because I think I lost my brother a couple years ago. And one of the things that's kind of weird is like after like a year that I have found in death is that people stop talking about them to us and it's, they're trying to be polite. There's nothing, I understand it, but I just like, it is something that I'm very aware of that like nobody says my brother Peter's name. And this like the way that you have chosen to go forward of creating Katie Saves, having this, this, this story out there keeps her, her alive in spirit. Right. And doing what the best that you can with the worst situation a parent can ever be handed. And so I just wanted to say I freaking love this kid. Like I, I love, I love her. And she feel, it feels like she's alive still in some way. And I don't know, you all are doing what you need to do in order to kind of make that true for yourselves. But also saving other people in the process of creating this law that is hopefully will get federalized is like that's exactly, that's kind of the personality. I saw Katie on that television screen being like, this is exactly what she would have wanted you to do.

[Julie Foudy]

So what you just said, Abby, about save. Saving other people. It's why we called it save. Obviously the goalkeeping side of it. But, but there's just so much more to what you're doing. You're saving others lives.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

What you're doing.

[Abby Wambach]

Thank you.

[Gina Meyer]

Thanks for saying that. And Abby, she adored you.

[Steve Meyer]

Yeah.

[Gina Meyer]

I mean like you were, I mean, Julie, sorry.

[Julie Foudy]

Julie, don't know. You don't have to call. Just say it. She had loved Abby. That always happened.

[Gina Meyer]

She missed you. She knew of the 99ers, knew the history.

[Steve Meyer]

She knew who paved the way.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah. She Knew. But. But. But Abby is the one she watched at 2012.

[Steve Meyer]

Olymp. I believe it was Olympics, right?

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Steve Meyer]

We were in Orange County, California, at a tournament all day long. They had two games at that age. She was 12, right? The morning game and then the afternoon game, but there wasn't enough time in between the games to leave the fields, really. And so it was just a lot. Long day. And we got back to the hotel, and in the restaurant area, your game was on. I don't remember who you're playing. I'm sorry. But I do remember your team and you. There was a couple players on the team. She like. Because we sat there, and I'm like, you want to go upstairs and get the shower, go to bed? She's like, no, no, no. Like, she was all in the game. She loved Pope solo. She loved you. She loved that, like, big energy.

[Gina Meyer]

She loved Megan all the badass.

[Abby Wambach]

I mean,

[Gina Meyer]

not surprising, right? 2015, she followed you guys the whole way. I mean, yeah, you all were a big. And I think she modeled her. I mean, some of that badassness and boldness came from watching you. So, you know. Thank you. Like, you played a part in that, too. I mean, that was her. But I think to see it on TV and go, I. I can do that. And then she had her own moments of badassness in the. In the College cup, and she got in a little bit of trouble.

[Abby Wambach]

I freaking love that. I love that whole story.

[Gina Meyer]

Well, now. Now it's more accepted, you know, because

[Steve Meyer]

short years later of the women who

[Gina Meyer]

I think have paved the way.

[Abby Wambach]

So, you know, I was watching that in real life, like, in real time, and I. I was like, holy cow, that kid is. Is freaking incredible. Like, look at her confidence. She's just so pumped, you know, it was awesome.

[Gina Meyer]

Well, we love it. But, you know, at the time, you get some hate for some of that, for sure. And that's what was kind of sad. I mean, I think she turned off her social media for a couple days. The. The head guy at Stanford, the communications is like, turn off your social media. Don't listen to the haters. Like, you've got a national championship to win. You just keep keep going. So, you know, it's interesting. But now, like, you see that all the time.

[Julie Foudy]

I know exactly the double standard, because how dare a girl act like that? And now it's like, what? Right?

[Gina Meyer]

And look at our Olympians. Look at our girls out there killing it. I mean, the Olympics was so fun to watch, and some fantastic women out there. Wow.

[Abby Wambach]

Okay. So, Jules Peloton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Tread plus power. It's the most incredible thing. It's powered by Peloton iq.

[Julie Foudy]

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[Abby Wambach]

I was like, what? It's the best. It's also. It's been a game changer for me because, like you, I can't run, but I can't run because I have foot problems. And so the tread and the forgiving nature of the actual tread helps me to be able to actually move. I can walk on there, I can get an incline on there. I can swivel that screen. But I think what I love most is that the screen swivels in a way where I can guide and I can do the pilates on the ground. I can do weightlifting. I'm like, literally looking at this Peloton plus tread. It's just.

[Julie Foudy]

It's in your basement, it's standing.

[Abby Wambach]

My wife loves it. Seriously, I'm stunned how much I actually didn't know I needed this. It mixes up my weekly routine. It's guides by instructors. Like, I feel like I've got friends and I've got trainers on my side now.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, Yeah. I love it too. I love it. So let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go.

[Abby Wambach]

It does it all.

[Julie Foudy]

Explore the new peloton cross training tread [e-mail] okay, party people, today we have got to. Abigail. Shout out the people who kept us literally on the field. Oh. Throughout our careers. So literally, the people who taped us up, rebuilt us, rehabbed us, got us back out there, and we were always able to perform at our best thanks to the medical professionals who always had our backs and our knees and your ankles and the list goes on. And on. And that's absolutely the case with legendary skier Lindsey Vonn. And as we've been following and talking about her epic return to the 2026 Winter Games, she's already, as we know, one of the goats. But now she's coming back after devastating injuries. And I'm thrilled to watch her because we know she's gonna crush at the Olympics. And Milan and Lindsay's amazing medical team and the entire USA medical team will be wearing awesome uniforms from figs. This company makes kick ass scrubs normally. And then their Olympic uniforms are next level. They are the official outfitters of Team USA's medical team. And the great news is you can wear the Team USA collection too. It's cool, it's functional. Ups your scrub game for sure. Check out the limited edition Team USA Collection and get 15 off your first order at Wear figs.com with code FIGSRX F I G S RX. That's where figs.com code figs RX I'm

[Abby Wambach]

actually gonna go get those right now. That sounds so exciting.

[Julie Foudy]

This episode of welcome to the Party is brought to you by Cologuard, a non invasive colon cancer screening test. Abs, did you know that colon cancer is one of the most preventable cancers?

[Abby Wambach]

Yep.

[Julie Foudy]

Yet nearly about 60 million Americans at average risk still haven't been screened. It's crazy.

[Abby Wambach]

I didn't know that.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, the Cologuard test makes screening super simple. It is delivered. And I did this recently, so I am talking from firsthand experience. It is delivered right to your door. And best of all, there's no prep. And if anyone has gotten a colonoscopy before, you know what I'm talking about. There's no fasting, there's no anesthesia, there's no time off work. And. And most insured patients pay nothing out of pocket. And literally the test comes right to your door in a box. You open it up and then you ship the sample back in that same box. You close it. The. The. The label is already right there. It's actually really well done, super efficient, super easy. I sent it back in under 24 hours, and a few days later I had my result, which was thankfully negative. With my Cologuard test, it's that simple. And it's perfect for a busy schedule as well. And so my point being, because this is such a preventable form of cancer, there is no excuse get screened for colon cancer. Please, party people. I really don't want any of you to go unscreened for this preventable disease. And As I was just saying, cologuard test is a really simple way to get it done. So if you're 45 years old or older and at average risk, ask your healthcare provider about screening for colon cancer with the cologuard test. You can also request a cologuard prescription [e-mail]. the Cologuard plus test is intended to screen adults 45 years of age and older and who are at average risk for colorectal cancer. Do not use the cologuard products if you have had adenomas which are a type of colon polyp that can sometimes become cancer, inflammatory bowel disease or other hereditary syndromes, a personal or first degree family history of colorectal cancer or a positive result from another colon cancer screening method within that test. Recommended screening interval. Talk to your healthcare provider if any of these situations apply to you. Cologuard results should be interpreted with caution. A positive test result does not confirm the presence of cancer. Patients with a positive test result should be referred for colonoscopy. A negative test result does not confirm the absence of cancer. Patients with a negative test result should discuss with their doctor when they need to be tested again. False positives and false negative results can occur. Available by prescription only. For those who are watch. Have watched the documentary, who are going to watch it, or are listening to this episode. Given all that you have lived through, what advice would you give a parent that's listening to this right now?

[Abby Wambach]

Great question.

[Gina Meyer]

Oh, my goodness. Probably lots of bits of advice. As far as, I think college, I mean, I, I would just say love on your kids, no matter what. Like, no matter what, whether they. I mean, we didn't know that Katie was going through this, so we had no clue. But you know, when your kid's like, hey, I messed up, I made a mistake. I did, you know, just listen to them. How can I help you? What do you need from me? Like, how can I be there for you? I think just being there for, for them, not judging, trying to pull back, any kind of, you know, I think just being there for them because they know. I think they know. Like, you know, if they, if they messed up or they're hurting or they're. They just want you to listen and I think just want you to be there for them.

[Steve Meyer]

I think that's right. I think love on your kids. I think that's maybe one of the reasons that Gina and I can function a little bit anyway after losing her is because we know and we know that she knew.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah.

[Steve Meyer]

We loved her endlessly.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah.

[Steve Meyer]

You know, we didn't have an acrimonious relationship with her where there would be moments now of like, oh, my God, I can't. You know, it was just all full on love and support. And then I would say to the young people watching, if you're in a place where it's dark, I know it's really easy to hear, it's okay not to be okay and be brave and speak. I know it's hard. It's really, really hard. But I can tell you, as a father who's lost his daughter, like, we're shattered forever. And the people in your world will be shattered without you in it. And so whatever you can do to share what you're going through with somebody, and it doesn't have to start with your parents, it could start with a friend. You could start with a freaking stranger on your campus, for that matter, and say, what's going on? The world is so much better with you in it. And I just feel very strong about that. Families, it's tough when you lose somebody. Abby, I'm sorry you lost your brother.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah, sorry to hear that, Abs.

[Steve Meyer]

That's my advice for young people, is just try to share somehow, some way write it down if you have to enhance somebody, a note, whatever it is.

[Julie Foudy]

Right.

[Abby Wambach]

Especially now with social media being out of control. And I see it, and we have a senior in high school, a freshman in college, and I just graduated, college student. And just like the younger generation, the younger girls, I could just see their attachment to the perception of themselves rather than just like the being of themselves. And my kid plays. She's going to play soft at Stanford or at, at Santa Clara next year. And so, like, she's an athlete and also very susceptible to like, what other people are thinking about what she's posting, about what she's wearing, about all this stuff. So it's like, yeah, all of this stuff is like so important. And I actually chose to sit down and watch this with her. Glennon and I watched Save with our daughter. And like, right after we turned it off and we looked at her and we just had this beautiful conversation around, like, there is absolutely nothing that you can say to us that will make us love you differently or less. Right. And we want to be able to help you, like, no matter what situation you're in. You call us at 3 o' clock in the morning. You call us from jail, you call, like, we, we listed basically our whole history trying to figure out, like, what could, what possible trouble could this kid get in. And. And so, like even just in my little family, like you've, you've all made such a big difference. Julia too, from feeling inspired enough to actually do something about it and make this beautiful art and to keep Katie and her spirit saving people continuously.

[Gina Meyer]

It's opening up that conversation, that big conversation. Right. Regarding mental health, whatever that is. And people are now having these. And I am inspired. I do think we're heading in the right direction with that with student athletes, with students in general. I do think there, it does seem like hopefully people are understanding that physical health and mental health are equal. They need to be equal.

[Steve Meyer]

I love that you had that conversation. On the other level too, is, you know that you would take a call from them at three in the morning from a police station, but do they know?

[Abby Wambach]

Right, right, right, right.

[Steve Meyer]

So the clarity that arrives after that conversation is the beautiful thing.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah.

[Steve Meyer]

I love that story. It's great.

[Abby Wambach]

That's great.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

I know the grief will never disappear. And I pray often that you too, in the family get the light that you so deserve. I think about that a lot and I am, I am encouraged that as you said, things seem to be progressing and the settlement is done. And that is hopefully a collaboration now rather than, as you said, Steve, the swords. So you can put the swords down. And for all the tireless work that you guys, in the middle of grieving, losing your child, you've done with Katie Save and Katie Meyer's law and all you now continue to do has always just been so impressive to me and I thank you for doing that because as we've said, it's going to make an impact on so many other families lives in the most positive ways.

[Steve Meyer]

We've had a lot of help, Julie, and I don't know where we'd be without all that help. And I guess just tie it back to what we're talking about today. People want to help their loved ones when they go off to school around the country to have a law like, like that to protect them. Now they got a way they can try to do it. Yeah, we're grateful for the opportunity to chat with you guys too.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah. Thank you guys so much.

[Julie Foudy]

Please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help too, as this evolves in making sure that Katie Meyer's law is a federal law. If we can help in any way, you holler at us, you know that.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. What's the website we can direct our party people to again? Is it Katie's Saves?

[Steve Meyer]

Yep, it's No s at the end.

[Gina Meyer]

No s at the end.

[Abby Wambach]

KatieS save.org KatieSave.org Go there, folks. Call your representatives. We got to get this thing federalized. Katie Myers law. Let's get Katie Meyer's law federalized into the law books. And, and, and it's an easy process to call your representatives. Don't be like. But nobody's going to pick up. You can leave a voicemail like you're not. You can call and talk to somebody if you want, but you can also choose to leave a voicemail. And then also we, they our party people, folks can go there to donate.

[Gina Meyer]

Yeah. That's awesome.

[Steve Meyer]

It is a 501C3. It's tax deduct.

[Julie Foudy]

Awesome.

[Abby Wambach]

Good job, you guys.

[Julie Foudy]

I love you guys. I love you. Thank you.

[Gina Meyer]

We love you guys too. Thanks for having us on and just everything you guys are doing. I mean, we appreciate it. Yeah, all this. I mean, I love the women's sports stuff, but everything around it and all the good conversations you guys are having. So thank you. So it's so meaningful and it's so impactful and powerful and we love it. So thank you guys.

[Julie Foudy]

I think you two deserve a gold medal for. For 10 hour days, five days a week, watching two young kids.

[Gina Meyer]

You know what? Hope both of you too will have your grandkids. You will have them and you will see. It is the. It is just so joyful. Like you will just, you will. You will love it. You will just love.

[Steve Meyer]

I go pick them up, are gonna love. They live a couple miles away. I go get them like 6, 26, 30. And on my way back, I'm like, we're going to grandma's house, you know, breakfast because she's cooks while I do the out and back. Right.

[Gina Meyer]

We have a second.

[Steve Meyer]

So I carry them in the house and they just have these looks on their faces. They're so little. Something go. So what's on the menu today? Yeah, like, like you're being escorted into it.

[Julie Foudy]

We're coming over.

[Gina Meyer]

Is it French toast? It's you guys. It's so fun. It's so fun. I pray for everyone to have a grandkid at some point. Yeah, you always. Well, yes. And we love. We love Glennon too.

[Abby Wambach]

Oh, that's love.

[Gina Meyer]

Her love.

[Abby Wambach]

She sat there and we watched that whole episode together. We cried throughout it. And we love people that can find a way to turn real pain into purpose. And that's exactly what you all have done here.

[Julie Foudy]

Amen.

[Steve Meyer]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Gina Meyer]

Thank you.

[Julie Foudy]

All right. Love you guys. Thank you.

[Abby Wambach]

So much for being on with us. We really, really appreciate it.

[Julie Foudy]

I'll tell you, having gotten to know those two in the family and seen what they have been through and how they've handled that. Abs, I know I've told you this off camera before, but, like, they are truly amazing because part of me often thinks, like, I. I don't know if I could have. Have been able to wade through the grief and the anger of this. This feels really preventable. And yet they show up and they fight and they've. I mean, and look what they're doing now. They've got Katie Smyers laws in California and they're trying to federalize it. And I just am. Each day I hear more about them and talk to them. I'm just. I'm blown away.

[Abby Wambach]

They're salt of the earth kinds of people, which is why Katie was the big personality, awesome athlete, incredible student, love of their lives. Like, Katie became the person that she became because of these two folks. And the strength that they have in terms of being able to process what has gone on during. Whilst fighting with Stanford is. It's just amazing what our capabilities are. Right? Especially when you're doing it for the love of a child, even if that child is no longer here on behalf of them in their name. These two folks, they deserve. These are the kind of people that I feel like deserve medals, that deserve awards.

[Julie Foudy]

And yeah, there's this moment in the documentary where when Katie Meyer's law gets passed and Governor Newsom signs it into law, Gina is writing in her journal to Katie, as she often does, and she says, katie, you're not gonna believe this. There's a law in your name, passed in your name. Like, this is your legacy. So, okay, party people, thanks for listening in. And if you again haven't seen the full documentary, it's on YouTube or on ESPN Plus. Katie Myers, save the Katie Meyer story. I do hope you will go watch it because it is, as you can hear, is just so impactful. Also, don't forget to subscribe to the welcome to the party YouTube channel and click that little bell icon to get updates when they go live.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, be sure to follow us on Instagram or YouTube and wherever you get your socials at. Welcome to the Party show where Julie and I will be bringing the party straight to your feed. You can also email us at party people questions gmail.com. and again, thank you, Kate Diaz, for making our theme music so inviting for the party people to show up every day. You wrote and composed it and we're just so grateful. Jules.

[Julie Foudy]

Should we out for Katie?

[Abby Wambach]

We're just going to do it for Katie today.

[Julie Foudy]

Katie. For Katie. Pause in the middle on three. One, two, three. Usa.

[Gina Meyer]

Usa.

[Julie Foudy]

Usa.

[Abby Wambach]

Welcome to the Party is an independent production brought to you by Treat Media. Treat Media makes art for humans who want to stay human. Initial Digital is our production partner, and you can also watch our full conversations on the welcome to the party YouTube channel and follow us at welcome to the Party show on Instagram and TikTok. Thanks for listening.

[Julie Foudy]

To realize the future America needs, we

[Abby Wambach]

understand what's needed from us to face each threat head on.

[Julie Foudy]

We've earned our place in the fight for our nation's future. We are Marines. We were made for this.