In the US, you rarely hear the term famous soccer journalist. Sports journalist, yes. Football or basketball or baseball, sure. But soccer, not really, not in the US at least. The possible exception to that is Grant Wahl, the most well-known soccer journalist in America who has covered the sport since the mid-90’s and chronicled its American ascent, including the growing prominence of women’s soccer and the rise of the MLS. Grant spent the majority of his professional career at Sports Illustrated before being let go summarily over a pay dispute during the pandemic. From there, he continued to cover soccer through his own podcast and subscription service, having built up a considerable audience over the course of his decades in the field. That, of course, is why he was working long days and nights in Qatar over the past several weeks chronicling the World Cup, a grind he admitted was exhausting and allowed for inadequate sleep.
I say all this in the past tense because, as you likely know, Grant collapsed and died in the press box during the waning minutes of last Friday’s quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands, a game that hardly needed additional drama given the play on the field. Wahl, who was 49 years old, received emergency care for 20 minutes but never regained consciousness. Thus marked a tragic and highly unexpected end to the life of America’s most famous soccer writer at the peak of his work covering the world’s most prominent soccer tournament.
What was potentially even more mysterious than his sudden death was the circumstances surrounding it, at least according to some. Grant had been highly critical of the Qatari government and its labor practices, not unlike several journalists but perhaps unique to those coming to the Middle East to cover the event. He also was detained for nearly a half an hour before the US/Wales match for wearing a rainbow shirt advocating for gay rights. This history, and a general distrust of a largely corrupt government that’s been responsible for thousands of deaths leading up to the Cup, led to Grant’s brother to suggest on Instagram that he was likely murdered. That suggestion, that an American sports journalist was murdered by the government of the nation hosting the World Cup, was remarkable even by the non-existent standards of FIFA and global soccer, where corruption is typically the assumed price of entry.
To be clear, American doctors have revealed that Grant died from a catastrophic rupture in the ascending aorta, according to an autopsy conducted in New York. Grant’s brother has announced he no longer suspects foul play, and Grant’s wife, who is a nationally recognized epidemiologist, concurs with the diagnosis and assessment. So as tenable as the accusation was to those who even consider conspiracy, this seems to be a tragic case of an undiagnosed condition that would have been nearly impossible to prevent. It’s a reminder of the frailty of life as much the politics of sport.
But to that second point, while Qatar appears acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing, this case is a reminder of the nexus at which events like the World Cup lie. One of the first lines of discourse that came after Grant’s collapse was, how is Fox going to cover this? That’s not only because of Grant’s prior dispute with the network, but more because of the assumed pall this might place over this event, and in particular Fox’s coverage that has both attracted a vast
American audience and also been accused of sportswashing, largely ignoring human rights violations in presenting this global sports spectacle. Presenting a balanced account of Grant’s death and life would inherently serve as counterprogramming to the network’s narrative, one built for entertainment over investigation. And I fully understand that dilemma, even if I hate it. Fox spent a lot of money for the rights to the World Cup to build an audience, not expose government corruption and inhumanity. And that’s true whether Grant Wahl was a victim of a crime or simply cruel fate.
Grant Wahl was America’s most famous soccer journalist, one who didn’t always fit well within the structures of corporate sports media and often spoke to sport outside the lines – and those things are related. It seems less likely we’ll see more reporters like Grant in the sport – even as its popularity grows, or perhaps because of it. Which is exactly why Grant Wahl was so deserving of his fame.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler
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