UPDATED 12/14, 10:40 a.m. ET: The wife of Grant Wahl, who died last weekend while covering the World Cup in Qatar, said the soccer journalist died from a “slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium.”
“He had an autopsy done here in New York by the New York City medical examiner’s office, and it showed that he had an aortic aneurysm that ruptured,” Celine Gounder toldCBS Mornings on Wednesday. “It’s just one of these things that had been likely brewing for years, and for whatever reason it happened at this point in time.”
As for how she wants her husband to be remembered, Gounder said, “I want people to remember him as this kind, generous person who was really dedicated to social justice.”
See original story below.
Grant Wahl, a U.S. soccer journalist who’s written for CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated, died in Qatar on Friday after collapsing during a World Cup match, CBS News reports. Wahl was 48.
Keir Radnedge, a columnist at World Soccer Magazine, told CNN Saturday that Wahl was treated in the stadium “for about 20-25 minutes” before he was transported to a local hospital.
“This was towards the end of extra time in the match. Suddenly, colleagues up to my left started shouting for medical assistance. Obviously, someone had collapsed. Because the chairs are freestanding, people were able to move the chairs, so it’s possible to create a little bit of space around him,” Radnedge said.
The U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed the news in a statement on Twitter.
“The entire U.S. soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” the statement read. “Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists.”
Earlier in the week, Wahl took to his website to discuss that he had not been feeling well, revealing he had visited a medical clinic while in Qatar.
“My body finally broke down on me,” he shared. “Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you. What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”
Following the news of Wahl’s death, his brother hopped on social media to speculate that foul play was involved, claiming that he may have been killed for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community.
“I am gay. I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup,” Eric Wahl said. “My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed, and I’m just begging for any help.”
