A well-known journalist from the American channel CBS Sports, who had made headlines recently after his detention in Qatar for wearing a rainbow T-shirt, died on Friday in Doha, announced his wife and the American Federation. of football. Grant Wahl, 48, worked for the popular magazine Sports Illustrated as a football pundit before joining CBS Sports in 2021. He died while covering the World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and Los Angeles. Netherlands.
His wife “completely in shock”
According to American radio NPR, he collapsed in the press box as the match drew to a close. Medical personnel practiced first aid before carrying her away on a stretcher. According to the American daily The Wall Street JournalWahl apparently succumbed to a heart attack.
Wahl was married to Dr. Celine Gounder, a noted infectious disease specialist who appeared on television several times during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I am completely in shock,” she tweeted. “Grant had made football his life’s work and we are devastated that he and his brilliant pen are no longer with us,” the Federation wrote in a statement, stressing that “the entire football family in the United States ( was) heartbroken” by his passing.
The journalist had joined in 1996 the editorial staff of Sports Illustrated – at the time the number one sports publication in the United States – to write about football. He remained there until 2020 and began working at CBS Sports the following year.
The announcement of his death sparked many reactions around the world. “Fans of the highest quality football and journalism knew that Grant could be counted on to deliver insightful and thrilling stories about the sport and its greatest protagonists: teams, players, coaches and all those people who make football a sport apart,” noted US Soccer.