US journalist Grant Wahl, 48, has died while covering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, according to a video posted by his brother on Friday night.
Wahl had previously been arrested after wearing a rainbow flag shirt (pictured above) at the USA-Wales game. In Qatar, engaging in a same-sex relationship and sexual activity is a crime. punished with death by stoning.
According to Wahl’s brother Eric, who is gay himself, the journalist was “healthy” before his collapse during the Netherlands-Argentina quarter-final game in Doha.
According to that New York PostEric said he believes his brother was murdered in one Instagram video that has since been deleted. “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow jersey to the World Cup,” he said. “I don’t think my brother just died, I think he was killed.”
Wahl, who made his name during his stint at Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, covered American and international football on his substack, CBS Sports and NBC News.
According to Wahl’s adviser, the journalist was in acute distress in the final minutes of the quarter-final game. US reporters seated near him said he fell back to his seat in the media stand at Lusail Iconic Stadium during extra time, and emergency medical personnel responded very quickly. His colleagues were later informed that he had died.
“He was working on his story on his laptop, it was about 4 minutes before the end of overtime,” said Univision journalist Rafael Cores. “He was laughing at a joke we saw on Twitter just minutes before. I can not believe it. My deepest condolences to Grant Wahl’s family.”
Just a day earlier, on an episode of his podcast Futbol with Grant Wahl, Grant Wahl mentioned that he wasn’t feeling well.
“My body eventually collapsed on me,” he said. “Three weeks of little sleep, high stress, and a lot of work can do that to you.”
He added: “What had been a cold for the past 10 days turned into something heavier on the night of the USA-Netherlands game and I could feel my upper chest taking on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”
“I went to the medical clinic at the main media center today and they said I probably have bronchitis,” he said, confirming he tested negative for COVID-19. “They gave me antibiotics and strong cough syrup and a few hours later I’m feeling a little better. But still: No bueno.”
