Grant Wahl died last week while covering a World Cup match due to an undetected aortic aneurysm. 

"Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium," she wrote on her husband's Substack newsletter; hemopericardium refers to blood in the sac that surrounds the heart.

"The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death."

Wahl had complained during the World Cup about feeling ill.

"My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you," Wahl wrote on Dec. 5. "What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort."

Wahl wrote that he tested negative for COVID-19 and sought treatment for his symptoms.

Wahl worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, known primarily for his coverage of soccer and college basketball.