Grant Wahl, an American sports journalist who covered the World Cup in Qatar, has died. He was 48.
Wahl’s wife Dr. Celine Gounder and his brother, Eric Wahl, confirmed his death via social media.
“I’m so grateful for the support from my husband @GrantWahl’s football family and so many friends who reached out tonight,” Celine tweeted. “I’m in complete shock.”
Wahl, who had built a reputation as one of the nation’s most established football journalists, covered the World Cup for his Substack and served as an analyst for CBS Sports. On his Substack, Wahl reported earlier this week that he went to a local medical center after feeling unwell.
“What had been a cold for the past 10 days turned into something more serious on the night of the US-Netherlands game, and I felt my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” Wahl wrote, adding that he was negative tested for COVID. “They gave me a course of antibiotics and some strong cough syrup, and I feel a little better just a few hours later.”
Wahl collapsed in the press box on Saturday during the Argentina-Netherlands game and was pronounced dead after being taken off on a stretcher.
On November 21, while I was covering the World Cup in Qatar, Wahl shared in an article on his Substack page that he was refused entry to a stadium for the USA v Wales game because he was wearing a rainbow shirt.
He said he was detained and security demanded that he remove the shirt. Same-sex relationships are illegal in Qatar, and Wahl said in his article that he wore the shirt in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
During the incident, Wahl took to Twitter, saying “Just now: Guard refuses to let me into stadium for USA-Wales. “You need to change your shirt. It is not permitted.”
According to his Substack article, he was eventually allowed to enter the stadium with the shirt on. Wahl followed later in another Tweet, adding, “I’m fine, but that was an unnecessary ordeal. Am in the media center, still in my shirt. Held for almost half an hour. Go gays.
In a video shared on his Instagram account, Eric said he is gay and that is why Grant wore the shirt to the World Cup.
Commenting on Wahl’s death, the U.S. Soccer Federation said that “Grant’s passion for football and dedication to raising his profile in our sporting landscape was instrumental in driving interest in and respect for our wonderful game. ”
“Equally important, Grant’s belief in the power of the game to advance human rights was and remains an inspiration to all,” the statement continued.
Wahl previously worked for Fox Sports and NBC Sports and also produced the Amazon Prime Video docuseries Good rivalswhich debuted just two weeks ago.
But it was with Sports illustrated where Wahl began describing the sport. A veteran of the magazine for more than two decades, Wahl left SI in 2020 after being acquired by The Maven.
Wahl wrote more than three dozen cover stories for the magazine, including the February 2002 cover story in which America was introduced to a young high school basketball star named LeBron James (“The Chosen One” was the cover line).
His latest Substack report, dated Dec. 8, focused sharply on the Qatar World Cup organizers, leading with the line “they just don’t care.”
“The organizers of the Qatari World Cup do not even hide their apathy for the deaths of migrant workers, including the most recent one,” he added, telling how a Filipino migrant had died during the games.
Christy Piña and Carly Thomas contributed to this story.
