Grant Wahl's brother Eric Wahl felt ‘obliterated’ as he had just divorced his love on day journo died
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A week after Grant Wahl died suddenly while covering Argentina vs Holland football game at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, his brother Eric Wahl sent a moving homage to his brother on Twitter. The cause of his death was later determined to be an undiagnosed heart condition. Eric also apologized for first implying there had been foul play in his brother's death in an emotive Twitter thread that reflected on their life as siblings growing up in Kansas up until the week of his death.
Grant had been earlier denied entry to the stadium earlier in Qatar to cover the USA's match versus Wales because of the t-shirt he was sporting featured a soccer ball encircled by a rainbow. After hearing of Grant's demise, Eric posted on Instagram, stating “I am gay, I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt” and said he thought his brother "was killed." On December 12, Grant’s body was brought back to the country and an independent autopsy determined the cause of his death. Early last week, Grant stated that he had visited a hospital while in Qatar and that doctors there had likely diagnosed him with bronchitis.
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He had sought treatment for what might have been bronchitis earlier in the week after complaining of respiratory issues. During the extra time of the game, Grant slumped in his seat in a section of Lusail Stadium designated for media and adjacent reporters and asked for help. Emergency personnel arrived very quickly, treated him on the scene for 20 to 30 minutes and then carried him away on a stretcher as per a Daily Mail report. He was transferred to Doha's Hamad General Hospital, according to the World Cup organizing committee but no cause of death was given at the time.
Posting on Twitter, Eric said: “In the span of a few years, I watched Celine's father die on a gurney, my mother died, my mother-in-law died, my father died; last month I had to put down my 19yr-old cat. Last Friday, I'd agreed to a divorce from the love of my life, & later that day, my brother died. I felt, feel, obliterated. Grant was my confidante, my champion, my friend, my defender, my brother & only sibling. Grant knew things that happened to me growing up gay in KS. We see your well wishes & kind words. We've read your own touching stories. We're grateful. We see the cruel comments, too. All I can say is we're just people trying our best to grieve under circumstances that put us on the spot. Grant knew my anxiety issues were a big reason why I never wanted a public spotlight, & the past week has been a media education for me. I'm sorry I didn't do a better job. Thank you to Grant's friends & colleagues who reached out. Thank you to the USMNT player who reached out.”
In the span of a few years, I watched Celine's father die on a gurney, my mother died, my mother-in-law died, my father died; last month I had to put down my 19yr-old cat. Last Friday, I'd agreed to a divorce from the love of my life, & later that day, my brother died.
— Eric Wahl (@ziplamak) December 16, 2022
“As we grew up, Grant saw my discomfort in adolescence & my early 20s as I came to terms with being gay,” Eric wrote in reference to the assistance his brother provided him. He added: “He knew about the harassment & physical abuse I'd received & their effects on my psyche. He listened, he loved, he supported without question. And I felt so lucky. He cheered me through grad school graduations at ESU & the University of Idaho. I hosted Thanksgiving in my Moscow apartment one year for all of us. He & I had regular conversations about everything in our lives & our minds. We cried together & laughed together right into the week he left us.” After more than two decades of writing for Sports Illustrated, Grant launched his own website. During a period of heightened interest in soccer in America, he was a significant voice in raising awareness of soccer among Americans after the US hosted the 1994 World Cup.
As we grew up, Grant saw my discomfort in adolescence & my early 20s as I came to terms with being gay. He knew about the harassment & physical abuse I'd received & their effects on my psyche. He listened, he loved, he supported without question. And I felt so lucky...
— Eric Wahl (@ziplamak) December 16, 2022