In a theoretical situation in which they actually decided to kill a too critical western journalist - which I don't believe happened here - do you truly think that would be a truly deterring factor?
So we have "bronchitis" (AP), "cardiac arrest" (WSJ), and "fatal seizure" (Times UK)... (not a medical professiona,no idea if those things are all different or could be related)
When Grant explained how he felt his "upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort" last Saturday, in retrospect it does stand out and makes one wonder if there was a failure of due diligence by the medical staff in Qatar when he went in for examination. Perhaps it was just symptoms from an upper respiratory infection, but we don't know yet. I recently lost my brother, also only in his 40's, to a sudden cardiac episode that nobody saw coming. He was there by morning and simply gone by afternoon. So, I unfortunately know from experience how it is possible for these awful things to occur suddenly and unexpectedly. In Grant's case, whether there was foul play involved or it was just tragically coincidental circumstances, I cannot say. But, the autopsy will be vital here for the family (and even our country), and I hope the body will securely be returned to the US without political complications.
This begs the question by assuming they have “decided” to do so in the first place. But would western repercussions factor into a decision to harm a high profile western journalist? Yes definitely.
As someone pointed out earlier - it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Qatar to do this during their massive ad blitz. If we are going to speculate - Saudis trying to make Qatar look bad (as someone suggested to me) might make more sense as far as conspiracies go. But yeah - some kind of medical event is the most likely - who knows what was in his cough syrup (not in a sinister way) and the quality of the care he got - before and after. Might not have mattered.
The last two are just descriptive more than explanatory. Cardiac arrest means the heart stopped, doesn't tell you why. A fatal seizure is just another term for what can be obviously observed to have occurred--he suddenly had a major medical incident and died. Without an autopsy none of these news organizations can tell us anything about the underlying causes.
Horrible news. Just horrible. A real champion of the sport in the United States. I do hope a proper autopsy is performed, and we'll see from there whether conspiracy theories need to be entertained. At age 52 my dad got real sick, had something that some doctor thought was bronchitis, and it got worse and another doctor checked it out and diagnosed congestive heart failure. A couple days later my dad got a quadruple bypass (and lived nine more years). Just never know sometimes.
To be fair, they’ve done a lot of things during their sportswashing episode that seem to be nonsensical and counterproductive. But the simplest explanation is usually the correct one-they didn’t catch the signs at the hospital and it ended up costing him his life. It’s been telling how many fellow journalists have stories of Wahl going above and beyond to help them in their careers. What an immense loss, and a total shame he won’t be here to enjoy 2026.
I remember him posting here. it feels like american soccer fandom is a small world now, but back then, it was *really* small, and it felt exciting that we could all play a part in forming what american soccer would become. this world cup is corrupt (more than most), the disgusting abuses of human rights in qatar are obvious and ongoing, and the number of people willing to acknowledge those things *and* exhibit genuine enthusiasm and joy for the game itself is depressingly small. After losing Wahl that number is even smaller.
Have been thinking about this quite a bit and the first emotion is just one of shock. Wahl is someone whose worked I’ve followed for a long time and he was writing about soccer at a time where no one else really was. As you can tell by all the fellow reporters tweeting about him, he was clearly someone who really worked to help his colleagues too and grow coverage of the sport in this country. I can’t imagine what his family is thinking in this moment. It’s ironic his most famous story is the one he did about Lebron James because he is a pioneer in this country for his work on soccer. LeBron James spoke about the death of Grant Wahl, who wrote a cover story on James while he was in high school.More: https://t.co/zBBbgYYFDz pic.twitter.com/GyNH1rlfwV— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 10, 2022 He said on his podcast last week that this was the 8th World Cup he’s covered, and it’s sad that four years from now we are going to be having a World Cup in the US and be won’t be here to cover it. He really does go way back with a lot of the people in US Soccer. He went to Princeton with Jesse Marsch and I believed covered both Marsch and Bradley as a student reporter while there. Rest in Peace, Grant. pic.twitter.com/4pNLmhFldg— Jesse Marsch (@jessemarsch) December 10, 2022 An autopsy will certainly be conducted to determine the actual cause of death and if warranted the US government should fully investigate what occurred. I don’t know if anything sinister occurred, but seems like a situation where you want to do you due diligence. It seems like it would have very stupid for Qatar to have tried something like this during the World Cup. Of course it was very stupid for MBS to have killed Khashoggi. If it’s ultimately determined there was foul play, it’s also possible someone lower down the chain misunderstood or thought they were doing someone a favor without thinking it through.
So no defibrillator is confirmed? From a witness in the press box who asks: "Why wasn’t there a defibrillator? That was the question we kept asking each other, as the medics pumped and pumped to no avail. At this billion dollar state-of-the-art stadium..." https://t.co/BKSRLXZT99— Bob Williams (@WilliamsBob75) December 10, 2022
It was St. Paul. I had an invite but couldn't attend. FYI...anytime a US citizen passes outside the country, the State Department becomes involved, with the point responsibility falling upon the closest embassy or consulate. (Longtime posters will remember that I have a very personal reason for knowing this. )
Aren't they required? Especially after Ericksen literally dying on the field at the last Euros, and the defibrillator being a main reason he's alive today?
Thinking the same thing. And, while my being upset about this leads me to want to blame them for their failure, I can EASILY imagine the same thing happening here in the US or any other country with even better healthcare systems.
We wouldn't want his personal thoughts about his recent health issues to get into circulation, wold we?
Probably would have. The chest pressure he mentioned wasn't bronchitis, was unstable angina or an MI that he misattributed to infection (and that whoever ran the medical tent or whatever messed up terribly. I'd bet you $100 they didn't get an EKG)
100%. It was unstable angina/ myocardial infarction. Needed an EKG and then a cath. This story happens enough in this country that don't even need to wait for autopsy. He was having chest pressure, he's 49 and didn't think it could be his heart so downplayed it. Went to the medical tent, told them he thought he had a virus or infection so they just gave him abx and steroids and didn't investigate it.
I've never had much respect for the quality of civility of discussions on this forum so I'm not surprised by some of what I'm reading here, but could some of you please at least have some respect and be a civil adult in an RIP thread.
The quality of care he received when he went to the medical center in Qatar matters completely. The article I read said he got antibiotics and cough syrup for his condition. We don't know if he had fluid in his lungs, Pneumonia? Difficulty in breathing? How was his Oxygen level? Too many questions, no answers yet. Fine writer who made huge contributions to the game. Rest in peace Grant Wahl. Prayers to your family.