John Beam, the football coach featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U” and athletic director at Laney College, died one day. after he was shot on the Oakland, California campus.– the police announced.
At a news conference Friday, Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell said Beam died Friday morning. He was 66.
“We are devastated by the death of John Beam, our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, coach, mentor and friend,” Beam's family said in a statement read at the briefing.
Piedmont Police Chief Frederick Chavis, who knew Beam since the 8th grade, said at a news conference: “John was much more than just a coach. He was a father figure to thousands of not only men but also young women in our community.”
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The announcement came hours after police announced an arrest in connection with the shooting. Police identified the suspect as 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr.
Police said Irving was found by Alameda County sheriff's deputies at the San Leandro BART station around 3:15 a.m. Friday. Assistant Police Chief James Beer said at a news conference Friday that a suspected weapon had been recovered and confirmed that the suspect knew Beam but had no relationship with him.
“This was a very targeted incident,” Beer told reporters, without elaborating. “And I will say that Coach Beam, even though they didn't have a close relationship, was open to helping everyone in our community. And it's not uncommon for him to maintain a relationship with someone who he thinks needs help. In this case, I can simply tell you that the person who was arrested came to campus for a reason.”
Beer also said the suspect was known to hang around on or around campus and that investigators were still determining a motive. Beer added that the suspect once played high school football in the city of Oakland, but did not play for the team coached by Beam.
“He played football at Skyline High School, but not under Coach Beam,” Beer said. “As far as we know, he was never a student at Laney or worked there.”
Beam was the former head football coach of the Laney College Eagles and received national recognition through the Netflix docuseries “Last Chance U.” The fifth season of the series followed the Eagles into the 2019 season and highlighted Beam's lifelong influence on generations of young players on and off the field. Beam's program at Laney was also known for having over 90% of its players graduate or transfer to four-year schools.
Before joining Laney College, Beam was the longtime head football coach at Skyline High School in Oakland, leading the Titans to 15 league championships and four undefeated seasons.
“Coach Beam’s legacy is not measured by championships or statistics, although those are great. It is measured by the thousands of young people he believed in, mentored and refused to abandon, including my nephew when he attended Skyline High School,” Mayor Barbara Lee said Friday. “He gave the youth of Auckland their best chance and never stopped fighting for them.”
Among the approximately 2,500 players Beam has coached over the decades are several current and former National Football League players, including Super Bowl champions and Pro Bowlers C.J. Anderson and Marvel Smith. Brothers Nahshon and Rajon Wright, who currently play for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints, respectively, posted their thoughts about Beam on social media on Friday.
“You mean the world to me,” Rajon Wright wrote in one of his Instagram posts in honor of Beam, accompanied by a broken-heart emoji.
Rep. Latifah Simon (D-Oakland) called Beam's death a “deep loss for Oakland.”
“His influence went far beyond sports. He gave young people confidence, structure and a place to stand,” Simon said in a prepared statement. “Families trusted him because he showed discipline, caring and a belief that there was hope for every young person.
She added: “Gun violence has once again invaded our city and we cannot accept this as our future. We have a responsibility to keep our people safe and make a collective commitment to stop this harm.
