Who is Grant Wahl?
Grant Wahl was a famous American sports journalist and soccer analyst for CBS Sports, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, and a correspondent for Fox Sports. Wahl was also the author of the book The Beckham Experiment (2009).
Grant’s Sports Illustrated career mainly centered on college basketball and soccer in the United States. He ran for the FIFA presidency in 2011 but withdrew his campaign following failing to earn an endorsement from a football association. Wahl left Sports Illustrated in 2020 and founded his own podcast and Substack newsletter. He then died in Lusail, Qatar, while covering the 2020 FIFA World Cup.
Grant Wahl Career
1996-2001
During Wahl’s first year at Princeton University, he covered the Princeton Tigers men’s soccer team, then coached by Bob Bradley, who would go on to manage Major League Soccer teams and the United States national team. Bob gave him an opportunity to study abroad in Argentina, spending time with Boca Juniors, prior to returning to the United States for the 1984 FIFA World Cup. Grant cited his experiences with Bob as having been a catalyst for his love of the sport.
He started his career working with the Miami Herald as an intern in 1996. From there, he joined Sports Illustrated, covering college basketball and soccer in November 1996. In his career, he reported on 12 NCAA basketball tournaments, 8 FIFA men’s World Cups, 4 FIFA Women’s World Cups, and 5 Olympic games. He initially gained critical acclaim for his cover story ”Where’s Daddy?” (1998), which documented the growing number of illegitimate children born to professional athletes. Since then, he wrote many cover stories and profiles on athletes. He also earned 4 Magazine Story of the Year awards awarded by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
2002-2011
Grant was then promoted to the position of a senior writer at Sports Illustrated in October 2020, where he mostly covered soccer for both the magazine and SI.com. He wrote more than 50 cover stories for the magazine, such as a 2002 piece on then-high school player LeBron James. In Wahl’s first book, The Beckham Experiment (2009), he focused on the 2007 move of David Beckham to the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer and his impact on the league. The book became a New York Times Best Seller. While covering the 4th round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, in October 2009, he was robbed of his phone and wallet at gunpoint in broad daylight in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This was earlier in the day, he had interviewed interim Honduran president Roberto Micheletti, who later apologized to him over the incident.
Grant revealed a possible bid to become President of FIFA in the upcoming election to unseat incumbent Sepp Blatter in February 2011. He however pulled out prior to the official deadline, after failing to receive an endorsement from a football association (at least one was needed). Due to his bid, FIFA amended its presidential nomination process to require the endorsement of at least five associations. He then joined FOX Sports in October 2012, after having participated in the network’s coverage of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament earlier that year.
How old is Grant Wahl?
Grant Wahl died at the age of 49 on December 10, 2022, in Lusail, Qatar, and was born on December 2, 1973, in Mission, Kansas, U.S. He shared his birthday with celebrities such as Britney Spears, Charlie Puth, Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers, Jana Kramer, Daniele Ruah, Lucy Liu, Asher Angel and many more.
Grant Wahl Family
Who are Grant Wahl’s parents?
Grant Wahl was born to his parents in Mission, Kansas, where he was brought up. He had not shared any information about his family and parents with the media.
Does Grant Wahl have siblings?
Wahl had not shared any information about his siblings with the media. However, his brother Eric Wahl has come out and spoken about his death and claims that Grant was killed in Qatar.
Grant Wahl Education
Wahl attended Shawnee Mission East High School, where he was an Eagle Scout before graduating. He then joined Princeton University, where he studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics in 1996.
Grant Wahl Spouse
Wahl was married at the time of his death to his longtime spouse Celine Gounder. She is an American medical doctor and medical journalist who specializes in infectious diseases and global health. The couple married in 2001, following a meeting at Princeton University, their alma mater.
Grant Wahl Children
Wahl and his wife have not shared any information about having either biological or adopted children at the time of his death.
Grant Wahl Height
Wahl has a well-built, muscular, and physically fit body with a height of 5 ft 8 in (1.72 m) and an average undisclosed weight.
2013-2022
Sports Illustrated released their soccer section, titled ”Planet Futbol”, with Wahl at the helm in 2013, Wahl published his second book, Masters of Modern Soccer, in 2018, featuring interviews with top players and evaluations of their playing styles, Wahl was then fired from Sports Illustrated on April 10, 2020, following criticizing James Heckman, CEO of the magazine’s publisher Maven, for his handling of pay cuts during the coronavirus pandemic. In response, Heckman criticized both Wahl’s work and not wanting to volunteer for a permanent pay cut. Grant then joined CBS Sports on October 5, 2021, where he became an analyst for its coverage of CONCACAF soccer matches and an editorial consultant for soccer documentaries to air on Paramount+.
He established his own independent newsletter on Substack, titled Futbol with Grant Wahl for his existing podcast in August 2021. Wahl also launched a podcast series on the career of Freddy Adu in 2020 that was distributed by Blue Wire Media. While following the United States to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he became caught up in a crackdown in Qatar on items that featured a rainbow in support of the LGBT community. He was detained for about 25 minutes outside a stadium over the rainbow-patterned T-shirt he was wearing. Also, a reporter for The New York Times who was with him was detained shortly by Qatari officials. Wahl’s last entry, published on December 8 and titled ”They just don’t care”, criticized leaders of Qatar for their apathy towards the death of migrant laborers at construction sites in the country.
Death
Grant collapsed suddenly in the press box at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar while covering the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands. Local paramedics responded instantly and treated him for 30 minutes, including CPR, prior to his being transported to a hospital, according to a statement by his wife. Wahl was pronounced dead on December 10, 2022.
Despite the cause of his death remains unclear, he had complained of chest discomfort and sought help at the medical clinic at the World Cup media center, where he was told that he probably had bronchitis. Grant was given cough syrup and antibiotics at the clinic. His body was then repatriated to the United States on December 12 to undergo an autopsy with the New York City Medical Examiner. Eric Wahl stated that his brother had received death threats and that he believed he was killed. He also said that the family was in contact with U.S. State Department and White House officials.
Grant Wahl Net Worth
American professional sports journalist and soccer analyst for CBS Sports, Wahl was active from 1996 to 2022. He had gathered an estimated net worth of around $11 million as of his death in 2022.