It’s been a month since we lost Katie Meyer, the national champion goaltender for the Stanford women’s soccer team. The story made national AND global headlines. Her parents appeared on The Today Show to generously share all they could, in the hopes to prevent other tragedies like Katie’s.
It’s why I’m so angry, frustrated, & many other words I shouldn’t say, that we lost Robert Martin, Binghamton’s men’s lacrosse goalie to suicide LESS than a month after Katie & 1) not only is it not a national story – it’s not even a regional one, 2) not a single member of the media is tying this story to Katie’s.
Both D1 college athletes. Both from large, well-known universities. Both goalies. Both “out of nowhere.” Within a month of each other, after the first incident took the headlines…now, nothing? A few local papers?
Go to Twitter, which aggregates the news stories in their search, & type in “Binghamton Lacrosse Suicide” & you’ll see how little coverage this is getting. You’ll see that none of the articles link Robert to Katie.
Obviously I’m not advocating that the loss of Katie shouldn’t have gotten the coverage it did. Of course it should’ve. I’m also not blind to the headlines that national champions often get.
But here’s the biggest issue – we’re amidst a crisis – a mental health crisis…& these two stories, less than a month apart, are abt as tied together in terms of examples OF that crisis, & – nothing. No connection.
This has been the case for decades now. Every story is treated as it’s own tragedy, unrelated to the next. That narrative gets the media more eyeballs.
For those of us who follow these trends (you all reading this), we know we’re amidst a crisis. The rest of the world – not so much. And w the news focusing on so many other things – if not now – when themes in stories like these are SO apparent, then when? When will they begin to connect the dots?
It’s why we have alliances. It’s why we say “same here.” If WE (all of us), don’t hold hands to speak up, share, talk abt how these things are all connected: the challenging life events, MH trends, overdoses, suicides, no one will. It’s on us. All of us.