Grant Wahl’s brother no longer suspects foul play was behind his death. Also: Major League Soccer has announced new deals with Fox Sports and Univision; the University of California Board of Regents is reportedly unlikely to overturn UCLA’s move to the Big Ten.
Grant Wahl’s brother no longer suspects foul play in his death
The brother of Grant Wahl said Tuesday that he no longer suspects foul play was behind the death of the longtime soccer reporter who collapsed and died while covering a World Cup quarterfinal in Qatar last Friday. In announcing Wahl’s death Friday, Eric Wahl said his brother had received death threats and that he believed he “was killed.” Less than three weeks before his death, Wahl was detained by security prior to a World Cup match for wearing a rainbow shirt in protest of Qatar’s laws banning homosexuality. He was also outspoken about migrant deaths in Qatar during the tournament.
Update 12/14: In an interview with CBS Wednesday morning, Wahl’s wife Dr. Celine Gounder said his autopsy revealed that he died of an aortic aneurysm. (Wahl/Twitter 12.13)
Fox Sports to be exclusive linear home of MLS regular season, playoffs
Fox Sports will be the exclusive linear home of Major League Soccer’s regular season and playoffs under a new four-year media rights deal announced Tuesday. The Fox networks will carry 34 regular season games per year — including 15 on the FOX broadcast network — plus eight playoff matches and the MLS Cup.
Univision has also reached a four-year deal with MLS, but will only carry the annual Leagues Cup between MLS and Liga MX. Fox Deportes will take over as the Spanish-language home of the MLS Cup. Univision will carry 21 of the Leagues Cup matches, including the final, with 16 on the Fox Sports networks.
All Fox and Univision matches will also be available on Apple TV, which owns rights to all Major League Soccer matches under a ten-year deal that goes into effect next season.
ESPN/ABC will no longer carry MLS going forward, ending a tenure that began with the formation of the league in 1996. (MLS 12.13)
UC Board of Regents reportedly unlikely to overturn UCLA move
The University of California Board of Regents is “extremely unlikely” to block UCLA’s move to the Big Ten when it meets to consider the decision on Wednesday, per a source cited by the San Jose Mercury-News, as doing so could create a “dangerous precedent within the UC system.” Per the Washington Post, it is not clear whether the Board has the authority to overturn the UCLA move even if it wants to.
The Pac-12 has said it is delaying its decision on its media rights deal until the UCLA situation is resolved.
In semi-related news, Texas and Oklahoma could leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024 — a year earlier than planned — according to the Action Network. Per a source cited in the report, there is a “desire on many fronts for this to get done.” (Mercury-News 12.13, Action Network 12.13)
