“We Love You, Katie”

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Stanford University’s Response to the Passing of Katie Meyer

Bibliographic Data

ID21834331
AuthorsNatalie Bunch (0000-0003-1974-4897, Georgia State University), Lauren Beasley (0000-0001-7707-2051, Georgia State University), Janie Copple (0000-0001-9633-5144, Georgia State University)
Year2024
Volume17
Issue3
Pages299-314
Publication date2024-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sport Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1936-3907 • E-ISSN: 1936-3915
PublisherHuman Kinetics (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1123/ijsc.2024-0035
OpenAlexW4396713228
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited91

In 2022, Stanford University’s Katie Meyer and at least four other college athletes in the United States died by suicide. If used appropriately, social media is a potential platform to destigmatize mental health through initiating discussions and providing educational resources. The study explores how Stanford University’s athletic department utilized Twitter to address mental health in the year after Meyer’s passing. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Fairclough’s approach to critical discourse analysis, this study examined 59 tweets posted across Stanford University’s athletic department and program platforms. The current study found that Stanford’s social media messaging reinforced mental health stigma and the sport ethic across the micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystem, which discourage sport consumers from changing their perceptions of mental health stigma in sport. Furthermore, the social media messaging does not demonstrate future institutional emphasis on mental health. We conclude with best practices for college sport administrators

Media studies · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Rhetoric and Communication Studies