Upon graduation, Wiley earned a position at the Oakland Tribune, where he quickly climbed up the ranks from copy boy to beat writer and eventually became a regular columnist.
Wiley published several books during the course of his career, including Serenity, A Boxing Memoir; Why Black People Tend To Shout; and By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of Making Malcolm X, with Spike Lee.
[2] He was known for his ability to mix street vernacular with literary references, and for his witty, erudite, and sometimes forceful writing style.
[citation needed] Wiley died of a heart attack at the age of 52 on June 13, 2004, while watching Game 4 of the 2004 NBA Finals.
Survivors included his companion, Susan Peacock of Orlando; his mother, Dorothy Brown of Washington, D.C.; a son from his marriage to Holly Cypress, Colen C. "Cole" Wiley; a daughter from his marriage to Monica Valdiviez-Wiley, Magdalena Elizabeth “Maggie” Valdiviez-Wiley; and a half brother, Samuel Graham of Memphis.