Late sports journalist Grant Wahl’s body returned to U.S. from Qatar

Grant Wahl, a sports journalist and soccer analyst, died Friday while covering the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He had previously been detained and released after wearing a rainbow shirt. Photo courtesy of Eric Wahl/Instagram
Dec. 12 (UPI) — The body of sports journalist Grant Wahl was returned to the United States Monday morning after his sudden death while covering the World Cup in Qatar. Wahl’s death was reported Friday but his cause of death is not yet known. The 49-year-old was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and a soccer analyst for CBS Sports. Advertisement
At about 8:30 a.m. Monday, Wahl’s body arrived at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Wahl had been in Qatar for a few weeks covering FIFA World Cup play, closely following the action into the quarterfinals. He was in the middle of covering the match between Argentina and the Netherlands before reporting feeling very ill. He had posted to his website Futbol with Grant Wahl about cold-like symptoms, which progressed into bronchitis in the days leading up to his death.
“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 on Dec. 5.
“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.”
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Wahl said he was tested regularly for COVID-19 and had not tested positive as of Dec. 5.
In the article from Wahl, he described spending a morning with more than 80 veteran sports journalists from around the world, with the highlight being a surprise meeting with Brazilian soccer legend OG Ronaldo.
Eric Wahl, the journalist’s brother, posted a video on Instagram, which has since been removed, alleging that his brother was killed. Grant Wahl was seen wearing a rainbow on his shirt at the World Cup in support of his brother Eric who is gay. The rainbow symbol has been a point of controversy in Qatar during the World Cup due to the country’s ill treatment of the LGBTQ community and anti-same-sex relationship laws.
“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I am Grant Wahl’s brother. I’m gay. I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup,” Eric Wahl said. “My brother was healthy. He told me that he received death threats. I do not believe that my brother just died. I believe he was killed.”
He told the Kansas City Star that he wants transparency over the cause of his brother’s death and is suspicious about what happened because of conversations they had recently.
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Notable Deaths of 2022