Was former Knicks draft pick killed by a man he met on gay dating app Grindr?
Was former Knicks draft pick killed by a man he met on gay dating app Grindr?
Police are investigating whether a once promising basketball player found dead in the back of his car was killed by a man he met on a gay dating app.
The body of Michael Wright, 35, who had been drafted by the Knicks and starred on courts across Europe, was discovered under garbage bags in an SUV in Brooklyn on Monday.
Cops are now looking into whether he was attacked by someone he contacted and arranged to hook up with on Grindr, the New York Daily News reported.
His car – a white Lexus – had been sitting on East 16th St since Sunday, neighbors told police, and the body had a noticeable wound to the head.
He had been reported missing in Bergen County, New Jersey, where he was living.
According to a Daily News source, early indications were that he may have killed himself. It is believed he suffered from bipolar disorder.
However, when cops found the garbage bags and head wound, they began investigating a homicide.
Randolph Berry, 40, Wright’s cousin, told Daily News she didn’t know whether he was gay.
‘We are in disbelief. They’re telling us it’s foul play. His mom is on her way to New York now,’ she said.
‘We don’t know anything about his personal life. All we know is that he did damage overseas. When he played ball, he destroyed everyone in front of him.’
Wright started playing basketball at the Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, where he played alongside NBA legend Kevin Garnett.
Wright played for the Arizona Wildcats between 1998 and 2000 and was pegged as a promising star.
He was then drafted by the Knicks in 2001, however never qualified to the roster.
Since then he has played around Europe, joining teams in Turkey, France and Poland.
In January, he signed with Cholet Basket, a pro team in France, but reportedly left a month later.
Wright then moved to Europe to pursue his career.
He played in Turkey, France, Poland, Spain and Israel, family members told The Chicago Sun-Times.
‘He left his French team in February and was planning to go back to Europe and play,’ Randolph Berry, Wright’s cousin, told the newspaper.
‘The last time I talked to him he thought he had two more years left. He wasn’t planning on retiring.’
It is unclear what Wright was doing back in New Jersey.
