Some unfortunate news to report tonight.
Professor Mike Adams, who taught sociology and criminology at UNC-Wilmington, was found dead in his home earlier today by New Hanover County sheriff’s deputies:
According to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Mike Adams was found dead at his residence today.Deputies responded to a wellness check at Adams’ home address and found him deceased. NHCSO is investigating the death, but has not released any additional information, and could not confirm cause of death or if foul play was suspected.The longtime professor of criminology and sociology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) was set to retire next week as part of a $500,000 settlement.
His forced “retirement” was announced just a few weeks ago. It came after UNC-W students and faculty launched a campaign to have Adams fired after supposedly “insensitive” and “polarizing” tweets he posted earlier this year:
Adams, the embattled professor who teaches sociology and criminology at UNCW and works as a columnist for The Daily Wire and Town Hall, has made national headlines before for his polarizing statements involving race, gender, and sexual orientation, but his comments on the COVID-19 shut down in North Carolina and violent protests over George Floyd’s death outraged many and amplified calls for his ouster.In a May 29 Twitter post, Adams wrote, “This evening, I ate pizza and drank beer with six guys at a six seat table top. I almost felt like a free man who was not living in the slave state of North Carolina. Massa Cooper, let my people go!”Many saw the use of the racially insensitive slave master term as offensive and demanded that he be fired by the university.Adams previously defended his post to WECT, saying the slave master analogy he was making had to do with the Governor’s oppression during the shutdown, not race.
Professor Adams, a staunch conservative, was a frequent target of cancel campaigns on campus by university colleagues and students alike. The most recent campaign saw Hollywood celebrities and professors and graduate students from other universities join in calling for a boycott of UNC-W until Adams was let go.
Adams was a tireless defender of free speech, and famously fought back (and won) against UNC-W’s attempt to deny him tenure in 2006:
The university attempted to deny Adams tenure in 2006, but ended up getting sued for discriminating against Adams’ protected speech. They ultimately lost the lawsuit and gave Adams the promotion in question. The lawsuit cost UNCW hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As news of Adams’s death hit social media earlier tonight, here’s how leftists – including one of his fellow professors, reacted:
There are many more where that came from, but you get the picture. Please note that some of the Twitter users I quoted here rushed to limit who can see their tweets after I embarrassed them.
Here’s how one local news outlet reported on Adams’s death:
When you get the chance, search “Professor Mike Adams” on YouTube. You’ll find many videos where he talked about the importance of the First Amendment and conservatives standing up for themselves even at systemically anti-conservative higher ed institutions that are known for forcing out conservatives for WrongThink.
Here’s a short video clip that speaks volumes about how committed he was to the fight, and how he tried to instill it in his students:
Also, make sure to listen to a great letter Adams wrote that Rush Limbaugh once read on his radio program:
Rest in peace, Professor Adams. You may be gone, but your passion for defending the First Amendment will live on.
WAJ adds: I’m not sure if I ever spoke with Mike Adams. For some reason, I think I did long ago, but regardless, he served as a source of strength for so many conservatives in academia under attack. Many readers recently have told me I really needed to contact him, but I didn’t. I now understand the pain of working with people who want to damage you personally and professionally, and I can only imagine how that stress affected him over many years. Rest in peace, Mike, you fought the good fight.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY