Photo: @grant_wahl/Instagram
American sports journalist Grant Wahl's sudden death at the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup was caused by an aortic aneurysm that ruptured, his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDA, confirmed to CBS News Wednesday (December 14) morning.
"He had an autopsy done here in New York by the New York City medical examiner's office, and it showed that he had an aortic aneurysm that ruptured," said Gounder, an infectious disease specialist who also serves as a CBS News contributor, during an interview with CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King.
"It's just one of these things that had been likely brewing for years, and for whatever reason it happened at this point in time," she added.
Wahl was reported to have died suddenly while covering the World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Qatar last Friday (December 9).
Wahl's agent, Tim Scanlan, had previously told CBS News that the soccer analyst "appeared to have suffered some sort of acute distress in the press room" at the stadium during the match.
Paramedics were reportedly rushed to the scene but unable to revive Wahl, according to Scanlan.
Wahl was reported to have "received immediate medical treatment on site, which continued as he was transferred by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital," according to a statement from Qatari officials obtained by CBS News.
Gounder said she was wrapping up work calls when she realized "clearly something was wrong" on Friday after seeing concerning messages on Twitter, text and email before being notified that that her husband was transported to a hospital after 20 minutes of CPR.
"I kept on asking: Did he have a pulse?" Gounder said, noting that she tried to track someone down at the hospital for information about what happened to her husband. "If he had a pulse when he left the stadium that would have been a good sign, but no one would answer the question. And so to me — I was scared."
Last Friday, Gounder tweeted that she was "in complete shock" in a quote-tweet of the United States Soccer Federation's official statement on Wahl's death.
Gounder married Wahl in 2001 after having initially met him when they attended Princeton University.
Wahl was live-tweeting during the Argentina-Netherlands match as part of his coverage for what was his eighth consecutive World Cup.
"The entire U.S. soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl," the U.S. Soccer Federation said in an official statement shared Friday night. "Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists."
The veteran sports journalist mentioned that he'd contracted bronchitis during the ongoing World Cup in the latest episode of his Fútbol with Grant Wahl podcast.
"I took some time off here myself," Wahl said. "We had two days off here without games. Seventeen straight days of games and my body, I think, told me, even when the U.S. went out, 'Dude, you are not sleeping enough,' and it rebelled on me. So I've had a case of bronchitis this week. I've been to the medical center at the clinic twice now, including today. I am feeling better today. I basically cancelled everything on this Thursday that I had, and I napped, and I am doing slightly better. You can probably tell by my voice that I am not doing 100% here."
Scanlan also mentioned that Wahl had faced an "aggressive schedule" while covering the World Cup in Qatar.
"I asked, 'Was it too much?' and he said no, this is what he lived for, and he loved the World Cup," Scanlan said via CBS News, referencing a conversation he had with Wahl on December 3,. "He had just been recognized for his eighth World Cup. He had turned 48 yesterday. He was a noted chef and loved to entertain. Twenty good friends that came to his apartment last night to celebrate."
Wahl was recently prohibited from entering the Qatar stadium for the United States-Wales match on November 21 for wearing a rainbow shirt to the game and said he was told by security that LGBTQ symbolism was not permitted.
“Just now: Security guard refusing to let me into the stadium for USA-Wales,” Wahl tweeted. “’You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed.’"
Wahl's brother, Eric, who is gay and noted that his brother wore the pro-LGBTQ shirt for him, shared a video online implying that foul play was involved in his Grant's death.
“I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup,” Eric Wahl said with tears in a video re-shared by Jack Settleman. “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.”
Wahl was contributing coverage for CBS Sports and had also written for multiple other others, while also working as an editorial consultant for soccer documentaries for Paramount+.