Grant Wahl, Soccer Journalist and LGBTQ+ Ally, Dies at World Cup
Soccer journalist Grant Wahl, an LGBTQ+ ally who was briefly detained by security at a World Cup match in Qatar for wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it, died Friday.The cause of death has not been reported.
Wahl had been ill recently but had also received death threats because of his criticism of Qatar's human rights record. He collapsed during the Argentina-Netherlands semifinal match at the World Cup and died shortly thereafter, either at a hospital or on the way to one, major media sources report.
He was 48. The U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed his death and posted a statement on Twitter. His wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, tweeted as well.
She is an epidemiologist who served on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board during his transition period. Wahl had worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2020, initially covering basketball and other sports in addition to soccer.
