In Jewish tradition, when someone dies, we say, may his — in this case, his — memory be a blessing.
Grant Wahl’s sudden death at the World Cup in Qatar came as a devastating shock. May his memory be a blessing, in particular to his wife, their family and their many friends.
Now, as your Jewish friend, because — without getting too deep into theology here — the Jewish way is to concentrate on the life we are living here and now and, especially, as arguably the most significant of events in our calendar reminds us, to think about how we can do better … all of you who were so quick to rush to judgment, to publicly speculate about, suspect, accuse or, worse, condemn the Qataris of the very worst in connection with Wahl’s death, you owe them, the Qataris, an apology.
The U.S. journalist Grant Wahl is honored at Al Bayt Stadium before Saturday’s match between England and France // Getty Images / Richard Sellers
Wahl’s wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, a prominent infectious disease specialist with extensive ties to the Biden administration, said Wednesday the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy found her husband died from the rupture of an ascending aortic aneurysm.
There was no conspiracy.
No poisoning.
No murder.
There was “nothing nefarious” about his death, she said.
Compare and contrast to just a few days ago, after Wahl collapsed in the media tribunes, because then the tone and tenor was — well, if the Saudis did x to Jamal Khashoggi, who knows what the Qataris might well have done to Grant Wahl?
Do you seriously think the Qatari government would have been so reckless to have murdered an American journalist at the World Cup?!
The premise — the out-and-out racism — underlying such a thought is grounded in outright other-ness. This is a subject Jews know well, and it’s illuminating to see so many turn so quickly against the Qataris. All the more so when most have never been to Qatar, and know nothing, absolutely nothing, about anything there. Note: I’ve been there multiple times, dating to the Asian Games in 2006, most recently the world track and field championships in 2019.
This is why the Qataris deserve better now. At least about this matter.
Qatar has been held to a lot of criticism, some measure of it just, at this World Cup. But this works both ways. If Qatar is to be held duly accountable, it needs to be appropriately served apology when wronged.
Like, now.
Mob journalism is, truly, one of the curses of our time. A pack of journalists, women and men who, in theory at least, have been trained to wait for facts seemingly cannot wait for process to play out.
This fever is destructive on so many levels. Most importantly, as the matter of the death of Grant Wahl illustrates so vividly, the wild, speculative rush turns him into a news commodity. It dehumanizes him.
The many tributes in his name were moving and beautiful. His wife said, “We will forever cherish the gift of his life; to share his company was our greatest love and source of joy.”
But the rush to wonder about how and why he died, the speculation, all the speculation — just the opposite.
We saw a similar rush to judgment in Beijing in February regarding the matter of Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian skater. Howls and howls and howls for the scalp of this teen girl — when there was, and is, a process. Moreover, she deserves due process. And all of that takes time.
Now, again, the pack went into high key, this time over events in Qatar. As one Boston Globe reporter put it on Twitter, referring to Wahl, “His death is still unspeakably tragic but … I mean, my mind is running wild like yours probably is.”
Take your pick from among the dozens of entries, if not more, in the fever of speculation and worse:
Awful Announcing, Dec. 10:
“As more details have emerged about what happened to Wahl and how he was feeling in the days leading up to his passing, it’s hard to know if there will ever be a satisfactory conclusion in the minds of many.”
The definitive conclusion took less than a week.
“…As Wahl’s family and others continue to gather facts about his condition and what happened in the moments surrounding his death, it’s hard for many not to think of Wahl’s run-in with stadium security after he showed up wearing a rainbow-colored T-shirt, in defiance of Qatar’s criminalization of those who identify as LGBTQIA+.”
That had nothing to do with his passing.
Deadspin, Dec. 10:
“Given how thorough and great of a journalist Mr. Wahl was, the fact that his last newsletter was about the callousness of the Qatari regime, that he’d been so diligent in documenting the plight of migrant workers in the country on multiple trips there, that he told the world about the tracking app that travelers were forced to install on their phone in Qatar, that he’d been detained briefly before the U.S.-Wales game for wearing a rainbow shirt, and that Qatar gets absolutely no benefit of the doubt … the pieces are all there, I’ll say.”
The pieces for — what, exactly? What nefarious something?
“At the same time, Wahl had documented in his newsletter and his podcast how run down he’d felt racing through all the games and his coverage. It’s hard for all of us to connect between someone thinking he simply has bronchitis and merely needing cough syrup to being gone a day or two later. I guess there’s a very dark comfort, very very dark, in linking Grant’s passing to something nefarious, because there is no oasis in seeing a 48-year-old, seemingly in good health, and just so beloved leave us so surprisingly. The confusion between these two sides, where I and so many others are, is such a sad place to be, because there are no good answers.”
Dr. Gounder: not nefarious. That’s the answer.
The Boston Globe, and ask if it didn’t seemingly go all-in.
The tweet:
From a column:
“To find out the whole story of why Grant Wahl died, it’s going to require reporters with similar talent, contacts, fearlessness, and dedication to unearthing the truth.”
Or maybe, simply, some patience.
Rampant speculation, unfounded suspicion and assuming the murderous worst about another — all these things make for a case study in how not to report the news.
This is why the Qataris are due a lot of apologies from a lot of people.
What we are here for, purportedly, and the last part of the Boston Globe column has it right, is a dedication to unearthing the truth.
Most often, that takes time.
How about, next time, we all take that time? Just — slow down. Let’s wait and see what the facts say.
When we do that, the memory of a man such as Grant Wahl becomes all the more a blessing.