Ground breaking black journalist and author. A 1975 graduate of Knoxville College in Tennessee, Wiley led the way for other black sportswriters. Intially a sports reporter and columnist for the Oakland Tribune, he became a writer for Sports Illustrated and and for ESPN, for the television network, the Web site and the magazine. Began writing for Sports Illustrated in 1982; worked there for 10 years and was promoted to senior writer; produced 28 cover stories; was a regular on ESPN’s “Sports Reporters;” provided commentary for ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and worked as an NFL analyst for NBC. An author, Wiley wrote a number of books including: “Serenity: A Boxing Memoir,” “Why Black People Tend to Shout,” “What Black People Should Do Now: Dispatches from Near the Vanguard,” “Dark Witness: When Black People Should Be Sacrificed (Again), and “Trial of the Century.” He also co-wrote several books, including “Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir,” “By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of the Making of Malcolm X,” both written with Spike Lee as well as “Born to Play: The Eric Davis Story” and Dexter Scott King’s autobiography, “Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir.” Cause of death: heart ailment. Interment pending
Ground breaking black journalist and author. A 1975 graduate of Knoxville College in Tennessee, Wiley led the way for other black sportswriters. Intially a sports reporter and columnist for the Oakland Tribune, he became a writer for Sports Illustrated and and for ESPN, for the television network, the Web site and the magazine. Began writing for Sports Illustrated in 1982; worked there for 10 years and was promoted to senior writer; produced 28 cover stories; was a regular on ESPN’s “Sports Reporters;” provided commentary for ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and worked as an NFL analyst for NBC. An author, Wiley wrote a number of books including: “Serenity: A Boxing Memoir,” “Why Black People Tend to Shout,” “What Black People Should Do Now: Dispatches from Near the Vanguard,” “Dark Witness: When Black People Should Be Sacrificed (Again), and “Trial of the Century.” He also co-wrote several books, including “Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir,” “By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of the Making of Malcolm X,” both written with Spike Lee as well as “Born to Play: The Eric Davis Story” and Dexter Scott King’s autobiography, “Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir.” Cause of death: heart ailment. Interment pending
Bio by: Fred Beisser
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