A University of North Carolina Wilmington professor forced into early retirement after an uproar over racist social media comments has been found dead at his home. Police did not say how Mike Adams, who taught criminology, died. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Adams was set to retire Aug. 1 after agreeing to a $500,000 payout from the school to leave. More than 120,000 people signed a petition to get Adams booted after he tweeted his opposition to coronavirus lockdown measures, calling North Carolina a “slave state” and writing, in reference to the governor, “Massa Cooper, let my people go!” The newspaper said Adams was discovered after police were sent to his home for a wellness check.