Beam and the Laney College Eagles were featured in the Netflix docuseries "Last Chance U" in 2020.
Former Laney College football coach and current athletic director John Beam has died after being shot on the school's Oakland campus.
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Former Laney College football coach and current athletic director John Beam died Friday a day after being
shot on the school's Oakland campus, police said.
Beam, a beloved Oakland football icon who was featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U," was shot late Thursday morning at the Laney College Fieldhouse, according to the Peralta Community College District. He was rushed to a local hospital and listed in critical condition. He died at about 10 a.m. Friday, according to police.
"We are devastated that John Beam, our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, coach, mentor, and friend, has passed," Beam's family said in a statement read by police during a Friday afternoon news conference. "Our hearts are full from the outpouring of love and support from all who cared about him. We are deeply grateful for your continued prayers, well wishes and thoughts. At this time, we kindly ask everyone to fully respect our family's privacy."
Beam left his mark on young people on and off the field at Laney College and before that at Skyline High School, also in Oakland.
He joined Laney in 2004 as a running backs coach and became head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. According to his biography on the college’s website, 20 of his players have gone on to the NFL.
Two of Beam’s former players — brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright, now in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints — posted on social media after the shooting.
The Netflix "Last Chance U" docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges striving to turn their lives around, and Beam’s Laney College Eagles starred in the 2020 season.