Grant Wahl – One of the Best Sports Writers of All Time

Throughout his career, Grant Wahl has written for Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports. He was also a former Fox Sports correspondent and author of the book, The Beckham Experiment.
Sports Illustrated career
Known as the best of the best in the sporting world, Grant Wahl was a jack of all trades. With an impressive resume, he covered the gamut, from sports news to soccer to football to the NCAA. Aside from his duties at Fox Sports, he also served as a podcaster and authored a few books of his own.
As a matter of fact, he was so good at his job that he was detained last week for wearing a shirt depicting a rainbow. Thankfully, his well-being was spared. Despite his unfortunate demise, Wahl was a genuinely nice guy who took pride in his work.
He was an avid traveler and was a fan of cooking, rowing and watching movies. Aside from his duties as a journalist, he also had a keen interest in health and fitness. He was an enthusiast of the rowing triathlon and has also tried his hand at a few yoga classes. His wife Celine is an infection disease specialist. She is also a COVID-19 transition team member. She is also a devoted basketball fanatic and attended at least one game in the NBA.
Besides his plethora of sports related accomplishments, Grant Wahl was also known for being a philanthropist, having donated more than $1 million to charity over the years. Some of his more noteworthy contributions include a donation to the World Cup Museum and a donation to the Sports Illustrated Foundation, which helped him to write his best-selling book on the sport.
As for his contributions to the industry, he was a jack of all trades, from Sports Illustrated to Fox Sports. His tenure at the latter came to a close in April of 2020. Among the many accolades he received, he was named the Sports Illustrated’s most honored reporter in the organization’s history. He also wrote about some of the most storied athletes of all time, including LeBron James and John Lennon.
The following year, he was named SI’s best reporter of the year, a prestigious title that he would keep for the next six years. In addition to his Sports Illustrated tenure, he was also a correspondent at Fox Sports.
World Cup coverage
Known as one of the most influential soccer journalists in the U.S., Grant Wahl passed away while covering the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. A veteran reporter and author, he was a fixture in the US soccer community. He also wrote for Sports Illustrated and Fox Soccer.
Originally from Mission, Kansas, he graduated from Princeton University in 1996. He worked for the Miami Herald and then began his career as a journalist at Sports Illustrated and he later became a senior writer there. He wrote about college basketball, soccer, and the National Women’s Soccer League.
His career included stints as a reporter for CBS Sports and Fox Soccer. He started a podcast called Futbol with Grant Wahl, which provided analysis on soccer stories and garnered thousands of subscribers. He was also a contributor to Substack and the newsletter Futbol with Grant Wahl.
In November, Wahl made news when he reported that he had been denied entry to a World Cup match because he was wearing a rainbow t-shirt. It was illegal in Qatar for people to wear shirts that support the LGBTQ+ community.
The incident happened during a World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. It was the eighth men’s World Cup and took place at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. During extra time, Wahl collapsed and was removed from the stadium by emergency services workers. He was transported to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
On Thursday, the day of the game, he tweeted about his health struggles, citing bronchitis. His wife, Celine R. Gounder, a medical doctor, said she was “in shock.” She has been on the transition team for Vice President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.
In February, she was a member of the U.S. State Department’s COVID-19 transition team and has been in close contact with senior Qatari officials.
She is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and is a member of the clinical staff at Bellevue Hospital Center and she is also a medical contributor to CBS News.
She has been an outspoken critic of the Qatari government and she and her husband met at Princeton and got married in Seattle in 2001.
Philosophy
Whether you’re a sports fanatic or not, you’re probably familiar with the name Grant Wahl. Among the ranks of Sports Illustrated’s longtime scribe, he was a prolific journalist. Aside from his day job, he also made time to cover the U.S. national soccer team, and served as an editorial consultant on various documentaries for Paramount+.
Despite his responsibilities, the late Grant had the time of his life. He was a member of the aforementioned aforementioned aforementioned national team, and he hosted a birthday party on Wednesday night. He also was a regular on the CBS Sports HQ beatcast. His love of the game earned him a spot on the list of 82 journalists to cover the eight World Cups. In short, he was one of the most knowledgeable sports fans in the business.
He was a proud U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) alum, and he was proud to have been part of the winning squad in the World Cup’s inaugural edition in 1998. Despite his aforementioned devotion to the game, he was never given the requisite support from the national governing body.
He was also a member of the aforementioned infamous duo, and he was a regular on the CBS Sports headquartered. His love of the game earned him coveted a spot on the list of 82 sports journalists to cover the eight World Cups. Aside from his aforementioned dedication to the sport, he was one of the most sociable sports fans in the business. As a result, he contacted over 150 countries and received varying levels of support, but not quite the accolades.
As for the ol’ fashioned sex, he was married to an uber-stylish woman named Sara. The couple had been together for four years and were the proud parents of an energetic youngster. Despite his hectic work schedule, he always managed to make the time to enjoy his wife’s company. Whether or not his love of the sport helped him avoid a life-altering injury is anyone’s guess.
Books
Known as one of the most prominent soccer journalists, Grant Wahl is the author of more than three dozen books on the sport. He wrote “The Beckham Experiment” about David Beckham’s move to the United States, and the book reached the New York Times’ Best Seller List. He also wrote a number of other books on the subject, including “Masters of Modern Soccer,” which gave readers a behind-the-scenes look at elite coaches.
Before his professional career, Wahl studied political culture of clubs in Argentina. He also worked as a reporter for The Daily Princetonian. While at college, he covered the NCAA basketball tournament. After graduating from Princeton, he joined Sports Illustrated as a reporter. He was promoted to a senior writer in 2000. From there, he remained at SI for 24 years. He left the publication in 2020 to work for Fox Sports. and he was honored by FIFA for his coverage of eight men’s World Cups.
He also produced a docuseries about the rivalry between the United States and Mexico. The series was made available on Amazon Prime. He was also the host of a podcast called Futbol with Grant Wahl, which he co-hosted with Chris Wittyngham. His podcast was recorded from Qatar during the World Cup every other day. The show garnered thousands of subscribers. He also produced documentaries and films.
Grant Wahl is survived by his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, and two dogs. His wife is a medical doctor who specializes in global health. She also serves on the COVID-19 Advisory Board, which was established by the transition team of Vice President Joe Biden.
The first of his books to reach the New York Times’ Best Seller list was “The Beckham Experiment.” He is also the author of “Football 2.0” and “Masters of Modern Soccer.” In 2011, he campaigned for the presidency of FIFA. He was defeated in the end, but he still campaigned for changes to the world soccer organization.
In his career, Grant Wahl has been a major part of the growth of the sport in the United States. He is the leading writer on the sport. He has interviewed a wide range of athletes in each position, and has written about multiple soccer superstars.
Death while covering the World Cup
Earlier this week, Grant Wahl, a 49-year-old American journalist and sports reporter, died while covering the World Cup in Qatar. He collapsed during a quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands. The cause of his death has not been determined.
Wahl, who joined Sports Illustrated in 1996, wrote for the magazine for more than two decades. He also authored several books on sport. He started his own newsletter called Futbol with Grant Wahl and was a contributor to CBS Sports and Fox Sports.
He covered eight men’s World Cup tournaments. He also provided coverage for the U.S. men’s soccer team. In 2020, he plans to leave Sports Illustrated.
Wahl made headlines during the tournament for wearing a rainbow shirt. The security guards refused to let him into the stadium, despite a request for a change of shirt. He was eventually ushered into the media center. He told reporters that he was feeling unwell. He sought medical attention for the symptoms.
He tested negative for the COVID-19. Emergency services responded quickly. He was treated on the scene and later transferred to a hospital.
A US State Department spokesperson said the department is in contact with Wahl’s family. The US Soccer Federation expressed its “heartfelt condolences” to his wife, Celine Gounder.
Wahl’s brother, Eric, said on Twitter that his brother may have been killed, although no one is certain. He believes there was foul play involved.
The New York Times reported that Wahl collapsed in the media tribune during the quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands. Medics worked on him for 30 minutes. He was taken to a nearby hospital and later died. He was accompanied by journalists as he was taken to the hospital. He received CPR for 20 minutes.
Wahl was a renowned chronicler of American soccer for over two decades. He was instrumental in the development of football in the United States. His love of football was so great that it even prompted him to write a story on LeBron James when he was in high school.
A day after the incident, his brother posted a string of tweets, claiming that his brother was receiving treatment and that he believed that the death was due to foul play.