The World Cup has brought good and bad tidings for different folk. A famous American sportswriter, Grant Wahl, collapsed and died in Qatar while covering a World Cup match. The autopsy was released, and we got wind of the tragic news.
We’ve seen a trend of casualties in the Qatar World Cup, and like NFL odds, it has undoubtedly shocked us.
“Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium,” Celine Gounder, his widow, wrote in a statement.
What is an Aortic Aneurysm?
An aortic aneurysm is when a bulge in the aorta blood vessel occurs which carries blood from the heart throughout the body. The aneurysm can occur anywhere in the aorta and may be in a tubal or round shape. In each case, it requires urgent medical attention.
Grant, 48, was a Sports Illustrated writer who moved to Substack. He was tweeting about the Netherlands-Argentina match on Friday when he slumped. In her statement, his physician widow said, “I want to express our deepest gratitude for the outpouring of support, love, and sympathy from around the world.”
Earlier, his agent disclosed that Wahl suffered acute distress during the quarterfinals. Medics tried to revive him in the press box before taking him to the hospital, where he passed.
In Gounder’s statement on Wednesday, she said, “No amount of CPR or defibrillator shocks would have saved him.”
According to Wahl’s writeup earlier that week, he visited a hospital in Qatar, and the doctors told him that he likely had bronchitis. The body was flown back that Monday to New York, where the New York Medical Examiner’s office did an autopsy.
What Now?
“While the world knew Grant as a great journalist, we knew him as a man who approached the world with openness and love,” said Gounder, his widow. “Grant was an incredibly empathetic, dedicated, and loving husband, brother, uncle, and son who was our greatest teammate and fan. We will forever cherish the gift of his life.”
Grant headlined in late November when he wrote about his anti-LGBTQ encounter in Qatar. In his writeup, he narrates how he was stopped at a World Cup Stadium security screening point for trying to enter while wearing a rainbow shirt (in support of the LGBTQIA community,
He said that the security asked him to take the shirt off, as same-sex relations are still illegal in Qatar. Qatar is a small Middle Eastern country with a population of about 2.4 million. It’ll interest you to know that NFL lines and casinos are prohibited in Qatar.
“Memorial services for Wahl are being planned,” Gounder, his widow, said.
Family Demands Investigation as Migrant Worker Falls to his Death at Lusail Stadium, World Cup
On Saturday, John Njau Kibue fell from the eight-story Lusail Stadium at the World Cup in Qatar. Kibue worked as a security guard at the stadium and fell during the early hours of Saturday after Argentina’s quarterfinal win and the Vegas NFL odds.
The World Cup organizing body confirmed Kibue’s Death and added that he had spent three days in the intensive care unit before succumbing to his injuries.
Kibue’s sister, Anne Wanjiru, came forward, demanding justice for her brother. Calling on the Kenyan government and FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, Anne said, “We want answers on the circumstances of his Death. They claim he was intoxicated, and we hear he worked long hours. The clarity of how he fell is not coming out. We don’t know where to start. It is very painful – they should help us.”
Sadly, the chief executive of the World Cup, Nasser al-Khater, seemingly dismissed the tragedy” Death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work or whether it’s in your sleep,” he said. “We’re in the middle of a World Cup. And we have a successful World Cup, And this is something you want to talk about right now?”
This is a submitted article
