Grant Wahl went above and beyond the requirements of a sports journalist–leaving behind a legacy of advocacy and kindness. We all would be better off if this generation of physicians-in-training did the same.
The arrival of Sports Illustrated each week was its own mini holiday in the Nisbet household. The first-rate reporting, gorgeous photos, and even the “high-schooler of the week” mini-section drew me in and kept me coming back. Among the number of incredible reporters from Sports Illustrated, few did as much as Grant Wahl to shepherd and advocate for the game of soccer. Looking back, his profile of Mario Balotelli stands out for its nuanced coverage of a deeply thoughtful, yet polarizing star just as his thorough and genuine coverage of the US Women’s National Team demanded that US Soccer media treat them not as a JV team to the men, but as the superstars and world-class team they were, and remain. Excellent coverage of soccer superstars–men and women alike–was required by his job. But I will always remember Grant for the way he expanded his vocation beyond its description. Grant was exceptional by using his journalism to demand change from not only the soccer world, but one of politics as well.
Grant recognized that sports journalism offered numerous opportunities to investigate socio-political complexities from his very first article for Sports Illustrated. Men on a Mission chronicled the “cultural phenomenon of soccer at Howard University,” as Grant wrote. The article highlighted how the team overcame racist discrimination and prejudice to win the NCAA Division-1 Men’s Soccer National Championship. Throughout his career he would go on to write at length about women’s rights in soccer, financial corruption in FIFA, and LGBTQ+ equality in soccer and our society as a whole. It is in this way that Grant stepped beyond what was required of him as a journalist. He did not just report on sporting stories, he thought critically about power and equity: always lending his voice to amplify those of the unheard. Entering into my future career as a physician, I similarly have been reflecting on how I can use my position of power to go beyond what is required as a medical student and future physician.
First year medical students at Perelman are most often asked to expand on our definition of what it means to be a doctor–to doctor–on Tuesday afternoons. Each week, we dive into the complex and intersectional nature of human health, thinking about the importance and fragility of transiently entering someone’s life as a healthcare provider. A patient may present with a specific concern, yet in all likelihood that concern is the net result of their environment, economic status, gender or sexuality, and genetics. In the clinic, it may be difficult to see beyond Epic into all the dimensions of that patient’s personhood but it is vital that we recognize that the patients we are learning to care for are people. To truly care for the people entrusting us with their medical guidance, we have to go beyond offering treatments, or even cures, and use our voice to advocate for change and challenge power structures.
It is by working beyond our clinical walls that we can learn in parallel from Grant Wahl’s transcendent legacy. In the same way that Grant took his defined role of a (sports) journalist and exceeded its requirements to speak up for marginalized or persecuted populations, we should strive to care for our patients as the whole people they are. To address social determinants of health, we will need to learn from them. To welcome in someone who has been pushed out by society, we will need to extend a caring hand and offer to listen. But most importantly, to fix the inequities and problems that plague so many, we will need to step beyond what is required of us by speaking out.
Even if we are years away from becoming physicians, we must not wait to start caring, to enter into the lives of those around us and advocate for them. At Perelman, we are surrounded by many opportunities to engage patients and community members. From the great work done by CHOP Family Connects and the Penn Center for Surgical Health, to the invaluable community advocates of Puentes de Salud and CUT Hypertension, to caring deeply and listening empathetically to our LEAPP patients, and all of the incredible organizations I have not mentioned here, we are surrounded by opportunities to care, to give our time, and to make a difference. We can speak out by using our influence to guide the next generation of medical professionals through panels and mentoring. Our words will be shared widely on social and news media alike, if only we write them. Only by holding each other accountable can we make tangible steps towards establishing a medical community that speaks out for those who are unheard, or overwhelmed. The opportunities are endless. It is up to us to grab ahold of our passions and work towards being the medical student we wrote countless essays about.
I, for one, am far from perfect. But if I took anything from the late Grant Wahl’s life, it is that people will remember you most for the things you did without being asked or when no one was watching. Nobody required Grant to dedicate his career to advocacy, but it is what we will all remember him for and strive to emulate for years to come.
Thank you, Grant, for raising a generation of soccer lovers destined to push for equity, stand up to injustice, and emulate you in all that we do.
Alex Nisbet is an MS1 at the Perelman School of Medicine.
