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Cops probe whether basketball player was murdered after arranging Grindr date
The death of a former New York Knicks draft has now been ruled as homicide. Police are investigating whether the murder could have come about after the victim arranged to meet another man via popular gay men’s dating app, Grindr, reports New York Daily News.
The body of Michael Wright, 35, was found by an NYPD officer in the back seat of his car at 9am on Tuesday. The white SUV was found parked on E. 16th St. in the Midwood district of Brooklyn.
His roommates in Closter, New Jersey, reported him missing on Sunday. Police at first thought he may have committed suicide. However, his body was found beneath garbage bags and he had a serious skull fracture. Investigators now believe he was murdered.
Wright was a basketball star at the University of Arizona when younger, playing for Arizona Wildcats from 1998-2000. He was drafted by the Knicks in 2001 but never made it on to the roster. Instead, he played overseas in countries including France, Poland and Turkey.
His family had said that they are shocked by his death.
‘We are in disbelief,’ said Wright’s cousin Randolph Berry. They’re telling us it’s foul play.’
Berry, who lives in Chicago said he couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt the 6’8” ‘gentle giant.’
He told NY Daily News that he didn’t know if his cousin was gay.
‘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’s was most recently a member of the Cholet Basket basketball team in France, who he signed with in February but left a month later.
Approached by Gay Star News an NYPD spokesperson would only confirm, ‘There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.’
Grindr have been approached for comment.
Main image: Patryk Chmiel Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
The post Cops probe whether basketball player was murdered after arranging Grindr date appeared first on Gay Star News.
David Hudson
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