Soccer Journalist Who Wore Rainbow Shirt Dies At World Cup

Veteran U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl has died while covering the World Cup in Qatar. He was 49. Wahl was in the headlines himself a couple of weeks ago when he was told he couldn’t enter Ahmad bin Ali Stadium because he was wearing a t-shirt with a rainbow on it. All rainbows had been banned by the anti-LGBTQ government. Eventually, after being detained for 30 minutes, he was allowed to enter. From the New York Post:

While covering Argentina’s quarterfinal win over the Netherlands on Friday, Wahl, who had run his own Substack after a long career at Sports Illustrated, collapsed at Lusail Iconic Stadium and was rushed to a nearby hospital. It’s unclear whether he died at the hospital or in transport.

His brother, Eric, believes foul play from the Qatari government may have been involved.

“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I am Grant Wahl’s brother. I’m gay,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram account before making the account private. “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. 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 just beg for any help.”

https://twitter.com/OGAride/status/1601423635549286402 During the Netherlands/Argentina match, Wahl was tweeting coverage of the proceedings. His last tweet was at 4:05 p.m. ET. Yahoo Sports soccer reporter Henry Bushnell was present at Friday’s Argentina-Netherlands match and observed Wahl seemingly unconscious in his press box seat during extra time at Lusail Stadium. Medics worked on Wahl for approximately a half-hour before taking him out on a stretcher. Read more at the NY Post. In his podcast posted on Thursday, December 8, Wahl admitted to feeling somewhat under the weather of late, which he attributed to not getting enough sleep. But take a listen – he really doesn’t sound like someone on his death bed. I don’t know about you, but my Spidey sense is definitely tingling here. https://twitter.com/KyleKoster/status/1601406993444372480