Grant WallDr. Celine Gownder, the wife of A.D., told CBS News on Wednesday that a well-known football journalist died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
Gownder, an infectious disease expert and CBS News contributor, said, “He underwent an autopsy in New York City by the coroner’s office here in New York, which showed he had a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
“It’s probably just one of these things that’s been brewing for years and for some reason it happened at this point,” she told CBS Morning in her first interview since her husband’s death. told Gail King, co-host of
Wall died Friday at the age of 49 While covering the World Cup in Qatar. His agent, Tim Scanlan, said the journalist “appeared to be in some sort of severe distress in the press room” at the stadium during the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands. but Scanlan was unable to revive him.
A Qatari official said in a statement that Wall “received immediate treatment at the scene and continued treatment while being transferred by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital.”
Gounder said he was finishing a work call on Friday when he saw messages coming in on Twitter, text messages and emails and realized “clearly something was wrong”. She was told her husband had collapsed and was rushed to the hospital after about 20 minutes of her CPR. She tracked down someone in the hospital to try and tell them what had happened.
“I kept asking, did he have a pulse?” she said. “It would have been a good sign if he had a pulse when he left the stadium, but no one answered that question. And for me, I was scared.”
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Gowner tweeted on Friday that she was “completely shocked” by her husband’s death and thanked Wall’s “football family” and friends for their support.
“Knowing that he was loved by so many people made me feel a little less alone,” Gowner told King. “It’s like a warm hug when you really need it. “
A prolific journalist, Wall has written for multiple media outlets and was a contributor for CBS Sports. He served as an analyst for CBS Sports HQ throughout his cup in Qatar Worlds and has guest authored his column focusing on the US Men’s National Team for CBS Sports. He was also an editorial consultant on Paramount+’s soccer his documentary.
Wall spoke about his health on Thursday on his Spotify podcast, saying he had contracted bronchitis while covering the World Cup. Scanlan told his CBS News that Wahl had an “aggressive schedule” during his stay in Qatar.
compliment After he passed away, athletes like LeBron James and Billie Jean King immediately poured in for him.
His body was repatriated to the United States on Monday.
“I want people to remember him as a kind and generous person who was truly dedicated to social justice,” Gownder said.
