Soccer journalist Grant Wahl, a preeminent American writer on the sport during more than two decades at Sports Illustrated and elsewhere, died early Saturday in Qatar, while covering the World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands. He was 49.
US media seated near him said Wahl fell back in his seat in the media tribune at Lusail Iconic Stadium during extra time and reporters adjacent to him called for assistance. Emergency services workers responded very quickly, the reporters said, and the reporters later were told that Wahl had died.
Wahl was at Sports Illustrated from 1996-2021, where he rose to senior writer. He was covering his eighth World Cup, working both for CBS and his own subscription newsletter.
He wrote Monday that he had gotten medical treatment while in Qatar.
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“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote. “What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game [Dec. 3], and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort. I didn’t have Covid [I test regularly here], but I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I’m already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno.”
“He wasn’t sleeping well, and I asked him if he tried melatonin or anything like,” Wahl’s agent, Tim Scanlan, told the New York Times. “He said, ‘I just need to, like, relax for a bit.’”
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US Soccer offered one of myriad tributes, expressing its heartbreak and that “Grant’s passion for soccer and commitment to elevating its profile across our sporting landscape played a major role in helping to drive interest and respect for our beautiful game.”
U.S. Soccer Statement On The Passing Of Grant Wahl: pic.twitter.com/CBp1mCK1mQ
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) December 10, 2022
“He was a kind and caring person whose passion for soccer and dedication to journalism were immesurable,” wrote longtime Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber.
Wahl made headlines early in the tournament by trying to enter the United States’ opening match against Wales on Nov. 21 in a rainbow T-shirt, “in support of LGBTQ rights in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal.” Wahl reported he had his phone taken from him during a long confrontation at the stadium media entrance, though he was eventually allowed to enter without changing the shirt.
“I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup,” Wahl’s brother Eric, who stressed he is gay, said in a since-deleted post on Instagram. “My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed.”
In a post from Thursday, Wahl tore into Qatari World Cup organizers for their dismissive response to the revelation that a Filipino migrant worker died during the group stage. The death went initially unreported until The Athletic broke the news this week.
“They just don’t care. Qatari World Cup organizers don’t even hide their apathy over migrant worker deaths,” Wahl said, criticizing the head of the Qatari Supreme Committee for telling the BBC, “I mean, death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep. Of course, a worker died. Our condolences go to his family.”
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US State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted late Friday: “We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Grant Wahl and send our condolences to his family, with whom we have been in close communication. We are engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible.”
Wahl is survived by his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center, and CBS News contributor. Gounder tweeted that she was thankful for the support of her husband’s “soccer family” and friends who had reached out.
“I’m in complete shock,” she wrote.
Among Wahl’s work before he began covering soccer exclusively was a Sports Illustrated cover story about LeBron James in 2002, when James was a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.
“He was always pretty cool to be around. He spent a lot of time in my hometown of Akron,” James said in Philadelphia after the Los Angeles Lakers lost in overtime to the 76ers. “Any time his name would come up, I’ll always think back to me as a teenager having Grant in our building down at St. V’s. It’s a tragic loss. It’s unfortunate to lose someone as great as he was. I wish his family the best. May he rest in paradise.”
Wahl graduated from Princeton in 1996. Along with Sports Illustrated, Wahl also worked for Fox Sports from 2012-19.
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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.