Police in New York are investigating the death of former New York Knicks draft pick Michael Wright as a homicide, and suspect he may have been killed by a man he met on Grindr.
Wright’s New Jersey roommates reported him missing on Sunday, and on Tuesday, an NYPD cruiser equipped with a license plate reader found Wright’s SUV in Brooklyn on E. 16th St. near Ave. I.
The NY Daily News reports Wright was laying dead in the back seat, his body mostly covered by black garbage bags.
Detectives originally suspected suicide, but they found a severe head wound on Michael that points to murder.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
They also found Grindr open in his phone, though details of the conversations within have not been released.
Wright, who was 35-years-old, was a standout when he played for the University of Arizona, and was drafted 14 years ago by the NY Knicks. Though he never played during a game, he did make a name for himself overseas, playing on teams across Europe and South Korea.
His family says he was planning to return to Europe this year to play.
Tobi
It was Rob Lowe, in the lounge, with the banana.
Xzamilio
I mean… it really is hard for some of us as black men to just be open and honest about our sexuality, because virility and masculinity are rigidly tied to being with a woman, and having as many women as you can… and being gay is seen as weak and “feminine”… or bitch shit. I remember being so damn scared of being openly gay and so afraid that once everyone found out, I would just be that f*ggot n*gga Laurence down the street that no one talked to… until 2 in the morning when some DL dude was knocking on my window (it happened… on more than one occasion).
I only say that because if this is true, it was clear he was using Grindr to hookup anonymously… of course I say “clear” having no information beyond this article. We’re getting there, but when you go Love and Hip Hop Hollywood’s Facebook page and see the openly homophobic comments and the hundreds of thumbs up, it’s enough to make you feel like crap. We’ll get there, though. So sad he had to die such a horrible way…
CWM85
Sounds horrific hope more details come out. Keep us posted on why he was killed… suspects… I’m actually interested in this story which is rare on this site… perhaps he was targeted by a crazed homophobe or a trick that went bad? Just sounds so lurid…
Masc Pride
I don’t see why Daily News just had to mention the app was gay. Couldn’t they have just said a “dating app”? He obviously wasn’t publicly out, so maybe he wouldn’t have wanted the general public to know about all this. Seems like the victim should have more privacy here.
moldisdelicious
@Xzamilio:
There you go with the self hatred again. Shut up.
moldisdelicious
@Xzamilio:
Last time I checked, being in the closet wasn’t just an issue with black men. There’s plenty of closeted white men too. Why don’t you speak about that? Who says that he wssn’t openly gay? How would you know? Are you saying that there’s no openly gay men on grindr? Way to go with your constant self hatred towards black people including yourself? Stop it, breh.
Bob LaBlah
@Masc Pride…..if it was the NYDailynews it would be shocking to me if they DIDN’T mention it. They and their equally toilet-paperish twin, the NYPost, are jokes that I wonder how in the hell have they stayed in business this long. Both started complaining publicly about two years ago when the major retail chains did not want to place Black Friday advertisements in their tabloids. The stores told them point blank that their readers where their shoplifters and that was why they didnt want to place the ads.
The trash tabloids seemed to be able to drop their derogatory comments and articles aimed at their very audience, blacks and latinos, long enough to rally them until the stores relented. Welcome to NYC.
money718
@Xzamilio: Seriously, no one cares about your personal experiences. And for the love of…..quit speaking for black men.
And quit assuming he was DL. BTW, you do know that “out” dudes also meet on grindr too, right?
Xzamilio
@moldisdelicious: Have a nice day.
Xzamilio
@money718: That’s nice. Take care.
Xzamilio
@money718: I’ll say whatever the hell I feel like saying, but thanks for your feedback. You too, moldy.
moldisdelicious
@Xzamilio:
You can say whatever you want but we also have the right to respond especially if it’s derogatory.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
@Xzamilio: i agree with you.
Xzamilio
@moldisdelicious: Kindly pinpoint anything I said that was derogatory… I wasn’t speaking ill of anyone, but you chose to make it seem like I was, and I’m not engaging you in any hostile manner. Nothing fruitful will come of talking to you, so take care.
@Baba Booey Fafa Fooey: I’m not sure what I said that warrants agreeing, but okay.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
@Xzamilio: okay. 🙁
Xzamilio
@Baba Booey Fafa Fooey: No, I wasn’t trying to be mean lol… I was just looking at this story and it felt personal because I could have seen myself going a similar route had I not just accepted myself. This isn’t something indicative of only gay black men — as that idiot attempted to claim I was saying — but I was raised in an all black town, so needless to say, my subjective expertise is in that area. But more with the “self-hating” bullshit… just ridiculous. These sad trolls exhaust me.
Chris
He’s dead; it no longer matters whether he was in or out of the closet. All that matters is that someone killed him. May he rest in peace; and may they catch the perp(s).
zooby
Are people really that desperate that they’d bring a guy they’ve never met before into their home for sex? No wonder STDs are so rampant in this country.
Brian
Grindr is suited to straight-identifying men who want a bit of man-to-man action. All you do is press a few buttons and you can hook up with another straight-identifying man who wants a bit of man-to-man action. It’s quick and easy, and there are no relationship entanglements.
zooby
@Brian: “Straight-identifying”? I’ve heard of them too – they’re called repressed closeted homosexual cowards.
Yeah, and I identify as “Brad Pitt” …
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
@Xzamilio: me too.
Me2
@zooby: No, std’s are rampant because they’re contagious. If you’re sexually active, you’re at risk. But this story isn’t about std’s, so chill with the condescending attitude, as there are healthier ways to make yourself feel better about being you.
Bob LaBlah
Here’s what bothers me about these hookups; you are letting at total stranger into your life for a brief minute to (why lie?) have sex. When you drive to a pickup point in a luxury vehicle not knowing a damn thing about this person or even if that is who you really are going to meet up with in the picture you are asking for this.
A lot of guys don’t seem to remember what happened to Michael Sandy about 8 years (or so) ago in Brooklyn. That poor boy was not only chased out into traffic on a freeway but drugged back onto the grass and had his pockets rifled thru. He was already dead when they drug him back……….it was sick, trust me. It was because of his murder that I got the hell off of those sites and went back to the bath houses for sex. Say what you want, it is safer and your chances of catching anything there are the same as what you meet online. You don’t know a damn thing about these people, always remember that when you are giving out your address to “damn, he’s cute” that you just met online.
Kangol
@Bob LaBlah: Michael Sandy was a grown man, not a “boy.” Come on, now, you know better. He was a black gay man who was brutally murdered. A man.
RIP Michael White. His murder was horrific, to put it mildly. I hope the authorities catch his killer before he can kill anyone else, especially if this person is using a dating/sex app to find and harm other people.
@zooby: Your anti-sex attitude is sad and a bit creepy. You can have sex with other people without bringing them into your home. Also you can have sex without contracting STDs, starting by using condoms. Have you tried using one? Do you even have sex or do you just dream and seethe about it?
Captain Obvious
Some of the comments on this article are mind boggling. I mean honestly… blaming the victim of a murder a second time in the same week. I can’t.
CaliKyle
@moldisdelicious: Exactly what part of Xzamilio’s comment did you erroneously perceive as “self hatred?” He was merely speaking the truth about the extra layer of difficulties that come along with being gay and from certain ethnic or racial backgrounds. I’m white but still very aware that gay and bi men from the African American and Latino communities, for example, face a sort of intense, hostile bigotry that many white gay men do not deal with from their own community. Granted, in certain regions of the US like rural areas in the Midwest and South gay white men do face a level of prejudice rarely encountered on east/west coasts or major urban centers, there is absolutely a degree of danger associated with coming out as gay in minority populations which tend to be plagued by socioeconomic challenges, lack of education, and a malignant culture of machismo that punishes males who do not conform to the concept of males as hetero, unemotional, physically and verbally aggressive guys whose main purposes in life are to fuck and impregnate females while asserting some sort of false dominance over other “lesser” males. There are larger segments of both the AA and Hispanic population whose lives are heavily influenced by both economic/educational disadvantage and a warped sense of machismo than there are whites. So gay men of color do tend to suffer disproportionately from rejection, discrimination and violence within their own communities than do white gay males.
zooby
@Me2: Right, because this is all about – to give myself an ego boost on Queerty…
Guess the truth hurt, right? You really think it is unimaginable that a hook up app with a high amount of men who willingly meet with strangers for sex won’t have a high number of STDs?
@Kangol: So because I spoke out against Grindr and the trash on there, I am automatically anti-sex… Great logic right there. Oh really? Enlighten me with your great ways on having sex with strangers without bringing them to your home… Public sex? Cause that is very legal and much safer, right? Please…
I also never said that all sex from Grindr means you’ll automatically get an STD, but it isn’t hard to know that there IS a high amount number of people on there with STDs considering it is a hookup app where a good chunk of its users order sex like a drive-thru menu. And yes, I have plenty of great sex with my boyfriend. Thank you for your interest in my sex life! Now, back to sex with trashy and closeted cowardly men on Grindr for ya.
Bob LaBlah
@Kangol: I didn’t know Michael Sandy. I did not go to his funeral either. But to THIS day, I remember what happened to that poor “kid” (is that better?) and am still haunted by it. Not only were his killers captured a lot of controversy came up because of the lackadaisical attitude displayed by the attorney defending him. Many questions were raised as to why both of them (his killers) were ACQUITTED based on the text messages sent by both Sandy and the killers. One even claimed that he was gay to avoid the hate crime law (race be damned NYC does not play that shit and you WILL go to prison for it). Both of his killer were white and both are now eligible for parole. Chased into moving traffic, hit by a car that didn’t stop, drug back onto the grass and THEN had his pockets rifled thru and they only got “life” of twenty years? Something is clearly wrong with that picture (sentence) if you asked me. Of course ol’ Rev. Sharpton had nothing to say about that one.
You and all others who still use those sites (I am assuming you do but I have no proof) might want to google Michael Sandy and read about ALL that happened to that poor kid whose only mistake was being too trusting and high off pot. And quit being do damn sensitive. I did not mean “boy” in a derogatory sense as you are clearly stating. I meant it as his being as young as he was and my being as old as I was (late fifties now but I had just hit the big 4-9 at the time).
Bob LaBlah
@Bob LaBlah: I meant to say why they “weren’t acquitted”.
moldisdelicious
@CaliKyle:
Man, please. Homophobia is just homophobia. You have to be a fucking fool to go around assuming that someone is more or less likely to be homophobic than the next person because of their skin color. That’s being prejudiced. Homophobia doesn’t have a specific face like how homosexuality also has no exact face. It’s all just bias, prejudice and asumptions on the ignorance of others. That’s why I can’t take his or your inputs seriously. You two are both ignorant as fuck with that simple minded shit.
It’s best not to assume things until you have exact proof. Just like the guy you’re cosigning jumped the shark claiming that the man that was murdered was closeted aND then going on a meaningless rant claiming that black people are homophobic aND more bullshit. Where in any part of the article does it say that?
martinbakman
I guess we are all more aware lately the challenges athletes face coming out of the closet. Sounds like his family didn’t know whether he was gay. Whatever the case, it’s such a sad situation to lose a family member, especially in this tragic way. My heart goes out to all his family and friends.
That said, stay safe Grindr users.
Tackle
@CaliKyle: You don’t know sh!t about what you are talking about. You just said a whole lot of nothing that’s full of generalization’s and BS. It’s hilarious when White men like you pretend to be an expert on Black culture, and the lives of gay Black men. And not only Black, but in this case, Hispanic culture, and gay men as well. What makes you an expert? And do you really believe that ALL Black and Hispanic gay men will have it harder that White gay men? And you make an erroneous statement, with the: ” there are larger segments of African & Hispanic populations who’s lives are heavily influenced by both economic/educational disadvantage than Whites, and a warped sense of machismo than Whites”. Really? If you did your homework, then you would know that the majority of poor and disadvantage in the US are White. And you want to talk about a warped sense of machismo: Lets look at the White man. Wars, genocide, rape, slavery, stealing of land, Murder & hunting of animals, and calling it a sport: THE WORLD OVER. And taking pride in it. And to stay on topic, was originally responsible for all the antigay laws that were originally in affect in the first place. Have a seat!
Me2
@zooby: Yes, the self-righteous tone of your comment is indicative of an ego driven character flaw that extends far beyond your comments on Queerty. This was not the time for your shady attempt to “educate us”, as we’re all full grown adults here who know how std’s are transmitted.
Additionally, just know that if you were tragically murdered (God forbid) and Queerty were reporting on it, I’d be equally bothered if someone decided to climb up on their soapbox and use the opportunity to berate others for not conforming to their idea of what’s safe.
GTT
Xzamilio,
I agree with you. You are on point as usual. Don’t listen to the excuse makers and deniers. They are the problem – not the solution.
GTT
Brian,
You think everyone is born bisexual and then “identifies” as gay or straight or bisexual. LOL.
Hate to break it to you Brian – about 95% of guys are repulsed by the idea of having sex with another guy – regardless of what your “ex-gay” loons told you.
alphacentauri
@Xzamilio: It’s always possible this guy was out but just not out as a pro basketball player.
I have gay black friends who were nervous about coming out but this was decades ago in the 80s and they were worried what their family would think but their family accepted them and loves them, and they also did not like going into a gay/LGBT bar that was an all white environment where they would be the only black person.
stanhope
@Bob LaBlah: I’m not mad at you for going to the baths. Some of us don’t want to go to them for various reasons. I am amazed at how careless some people are. I was at a hookups house the other day and he left the room to shower leaving an iPhone in clear view and a laptop. I could have walked out of his house with both. One buddy of mine who has rich parents who give him everything has had enough stuff stolen from him to open a Bergdorf Goodman pop up store. I was at another guy’s house and money was out in the open along with an American Express card along with a watch from Tiffany. He was a little tipsy such that it would have been easy to have walked off with it all. This situation repeats over and over. When I encounter it I let the host know how vulnerable they are. We should all be more vigilant whether it’s an app or letting strangers into their home and being careless about possessions not to mention your own life.
zooby
@Me2: Ok, tell me what else you know about me! It’s kinda cute, actually. I mentioned a fact, but I guess the shoe definitely fit and I hit a soft spot. Now, back to Grindr and taking that PrEP so you can have all the bareback sex you want!
Me2
@zooby: My comments were never about unprotected sex or std’s, they were about your unnecessarily judgmental attitude. Your comments have told me all that I need to know about you.
zooby
@Me2: They weren’t? This was your first reply: “No, std’s are rampant because they’re contagious. If you’re sexually active, you’re at risk. But this story isn’t about std’s, so chill with the condescending attitude, as there are healthier ways to make yourself feel better about being you.” So now you’re changing the story up to fit what you’re saying better. Go ahead and keep making assumptions, it’s kinda cute! Enjoying those STD ridden men from Grindr? Or is it Scruff now?
dtpm
Found GRINDR on?? Jus that seems suspicious…
LibraOracle
This is the reason why I don’t meet people online for sex or relationship,I rather stay a virgin my whole life than find some mad criminal out there to murder me,people out there are still insane despite the advanced technological time we live in,if I will meet someone it will be in person and I will have to see their mental and criminal records before engaging myself into anything with them,I’m cynical to insure my survival no one can be trusted.