The parents of late Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer are, like millions of other Americans, passionately cheering on the U.S. women’s soccer team at the World Cup.
But few are doing so with the same amount of conflicting joy and sadness as Steve and Gina Meyer.
It’s been a little more than 16 months since the couple’s daughter died of suicide, so it’s been an emotional roller coaster watching the Americans play on this world stage.
“It’s a mix,” father Steve Meyer told NBC News on Monday. “We miss her dearly and there’s a real sadness that she’s not with us, that she’s not there with them cheering them on. She would’ve been there one way or another. But there’s also some happiness and joy, through her former teammates there, we see her spirit living on.”
U.S. starters Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma have been open about honoring their former Stanford teammate while in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
“I’m proud of them,” Steve Meyer, 55, said of his daughter’s college teammates. “They didn’t have to do that. They cold have just gone over there and played their games and done what they do. But they have chose to stop and acknowledge it.”
Just before the Women’s World Cup began, Girma wrote a touching personal essay dedicated to Meyer in The Player’s Tribune.
She called Meyer her “truest friend” and described the goalkeeper as the “most unapologetic, positive, caring person in the world.”
After scoring a second goal against Vietnam, Smith celebrated by copying one of Meyer’s favorite post-goal gestures: zipping her lips.
“They’re using their platform to talk about something bigger than soccer, shedding some light on it and starting the conversation,” Gina Meyer said. “It’s amazing. I’m so proud of them.”
Girma told reporters Monday that self-care and mental health are high priorities and having loved ones at the tournament has been a boost.
“Yeah, I think for me, my family’s here,” Girma said. “So that’s been great just to get away and spend time with them.”
The stress of 90-plus minutes on the pitch and the non-stop hours of practice and strategy sessions have to be offset to stay in top form, she said.
“And I think really just making sure that I’m decompressing — in moments when we’re not in meetings, we’re not in training or preparing for games — and making sure that there’s some balance so that I can make sure I’m at my best once we step on the field,” Girma said.
The Americans need a win or draw in their final Group E match against Portugal, which kicks off at 3 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, to advance to the knockout stage.
“The fact that this group is talking about it, honestly, is not surprising to me,” said Gina Meyer, 53. “They really, as a team, rise to the occasion to bring out topics that needs to be talked about, whether it’s equal pay, equality or injustice.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
The Associated Press and Hayley Walker contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
