Uber driver gets Wright to Buffalo

Offseason NFL minicamps are supposedly voluntary.

Try telling that to cornerback Shareece Wright, a six-year veteran who is in his first year with the Buffalo Bills.

Wright was trying to get from California to Buffalo, N.Y., last Sunday, with a layover in Chicago, but missed his connecting flight due to delays.

The next flight to Buffalo was not scheduled until Monday morning. The problem was Wright had to be in Buffalo, for team meetings at 7 a.m.

So Wright contacted Uber, an on-demand private car service, and driver Hadi Abdollahian got the call.

At first, Abdollahian said he thought he was signing up for a three-hour drive to Buffalo Grove, Ill., not Buffalo, when he picked Wright up at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Abdollahian didn’t flinch when Wright told him he needed a ride to Buffalo in N.Y., approximately 500 miles from Chicago.

“I’m a man of my words and if someone says it’s an emergency he really means it,” said Abdollahian, 26.

Two other Uber drivers had canceled on Wright as soon as they found out the final destination. [Uber does not reveal the destination until the passenger gets in the car and the driver starts the trip.]

Abdollahian, in his Nissan Altima, drove Wright all the way to 1 Bills Drive arriving with minutes to spare before 7 a.m. meetings.

The Uber trip cost Wright $632.08. On top of that, Wright tipped Abdollahian $300.

“He didn’t complain once,” Wright said. “He kept me from stressing out. The only thing he complained about was people driving 50 miles an hour. His focus was to get me on there and he did.”

When news spread about what measures Wright took to make sure he got to Bills minicamp on time, a local company, Bluerock Energy, gave Wright a check to reimburse him for the Uber ride. But Wright said he thought Abdollahian deserved it more and passed it on to him.

“Anyone who’s that passionate and focused about what he’s doing, I’m more than willing to help anyone who’s putting that foot forward to be successful,” Wright said.

Abdollahian confirmed he received the check and shared a photo of it on Twitter. He didn’t ask for a selfie or take pictures of it because he didn’t “want to be that guy,” he said.

“He was so friendly. I loved his company. I wasn’t expecting to meet someone like this,” Abdollahian told CNN. “I really appreciate him.”