From Edgerrin James to the homeless, McAdoo saved them all

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke eulogizes one of Miami's unseen black leaders.

Miami's black community recently lost a great person, a man who touched the lives of a lot of folks from Liberty City to West Perrine. His name is Michael Wright, but anyone familiar with Miami-Dade County football knew him as McAdoo. He passed away a couple of weeks ago at the Orlando home of NFL superstar Edgerrin James.

Although he was never a politician, McAdoo was black Miami's unofficial mayor. He got his nickname because as a kid, he shot the basketball like NBA great Bob McAdoo, now an assistant coach with the Miami Heat. City and county commissioners counted on McAdoo to quietly get out the vote on Election Day. From every superstar athlete to every rapper to every drug dealer to every gangster knew McAdoo. When he spoke, everyone listened because they knew his love for the black community was genuine.

He lived not too far from Charles Hadley Park, where he would confront the hardest criminals and tell them to leave the kids alone to play. He wasn't the type of activist who would go in front of the city commission and beg for money. All he had to do was pick up the phone and speak to the politicians directly. He did the same with professional athletes he had looked after during their days playing Pop Warner and their time playing for the University of Miami Hurricanes.

He practically raised guys like former Northwestern High football all-stars Snoop Minnis and Nate Webster, who went on to become NFL athletes. McAdoo paid for those boys to attend their senior proms and bought dresses for their dates. He also helped other ex-Hurricanes players such as Edgerrin James, Willis McGahee, Santana Moss, and Andre Johnson by giving them a little money or food or anything they needed. McAdoo's generosity is a big reason he had no problem persuading James to sponsor a scholarship program for kids playing Pop Warner at three different parks in Miami. Every year, McAdoo and James put together a bowl weekend in Immokalee, the former UM running back's hometown. McAdoo would get the buses and take the kids up there himself.

Click here to read the rest of Uncle Luke’s story.

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