A light and a legend might have been taken from the Oakland and Bay Area community, but the legacy of coach John Beam will live on through the lives of the people he touched and impacted.
His passing is still setting in for many of them.
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An Oakland native, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard took it to social media to express his sorrows for the late coach.
“Rest In Peace Coach Beam. Condolences to his family and all who loved him,” Lillard wrote on Instagram. “This man is a true Oakland legend and GREAT man. Gave me my first Job at Laney Football games…Hundreds of kids all over Oakland became the type of men they are today because of this dude and for someone from that exact world to randomly come and take his life just ain’t right…”
“He was more than a football coach – he was a mentor, a steadying force, and a lifeline for so many players who believed in themselves because he believed in them,” the series creator wrote on X.
VIDEO: What to know about Laney College Athletic Director John Beam who was shot on Oakland campus
Here’s what we know about Laney College Athletic Director John Beam and his legendary career in Oakland sports, following the campus shooting.
“The Raiders Family is tremendously saddened by the loss of John Beam, a coach, mentor, and friend to many in Oakland and the entire Bay Area. John was an influential and guiding force both on and off the field for young athletes, and his decades of service will forever be woven into the fabrics of football in the East Bay,” the Las Vegas Raiders wrote on X.
“Smh… Saved Thousands Of Kids Lives In The Bay. Incredible Mentor To Many, Rip Coach Beam,” the Raiders’ defensive end wrote on X.
“To say this man was Oakland sports would be an understatement. His impact will be felt through the thousands he mentored for generations to come. He will remain forever in our hearts, in our spirit, and in our purpose to harness the magic of Oakland and the power of sport as a force for social good. Without Coach Beam, Oakland Roots is not born in 2019, and we are not where we are today,” the Oakland Roots wrote on X.
“Coach Beam was one of the first people to believe in the Oakland Ballers… As the Ballers grew, Coach Beam was a mentor, an advisor, an investor, and a friend of the team. We will miss him dearly, but his legacy and impact on the Oakland community will never be forgotten,” The Ballers wrote on X.
“John Beam is a man that has done so much to improve and help the men and women at Laney and throughout the city of Oakland. There are no real words to express our heartfelt sorrow,” Laney College Baseball wrote on Instagram.
“Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland – a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people. For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family… We are standing together, praying for Coach Beam and his loved ones,” Mayor Lee wrote on X.
“The whole city mourns,” former McClymonds High School football coach Alonozo Carter said. “You know, Oakland is a very proud place. And everybody that I’ve talked to that he’s touched, they they’re all in shock. And these people all across the country, I’ve been getting calls all morning because he wasn’t just about Oakland. He reached a lot of people across the country and on every level.”
After 45 years of coaching at nearly every level in Oakland, coach John Beam impacted thousands of lives.
Which means the news of his tragic passing is felt by just as many and not just locally, but across the country.
Including University of Arizona Wildcats running backs, coach and Oakland Native, Alonzo Carter.
“Coming in, coach Bean was the best,” coach Carter said. “He was the pinnacle. He was the one that set the tone and not just in Oakland, but in Northern California and the whole state of California. I wanted to try to be like him. You know, I wanted to try to do the things he was doing, not only just by winning games, by saving so many lives.”
The work he did for the community and his athletes was highlighted in small part on the Netflix documentary “Last Chance U.”
VIDEO: John Beam’s former players, now NFL athletes, react to Oakland Laney College shooting
Two of Laney College Athletic Director John Beam’s former players, who currently play in the NFL, are reacting to the shooting at the Oakland school.
We interviewed coach Beam in 2020 when the show came out and you could tell how much he loved his city and his athletes.
The series was when Bishop O’Dowd coach Chris Kyriacou says the nation learned what those in the Bay Area already knew.
“We think about Laney football and the stardom from Netflix — no,” coach Kyriacou said. “It started way back at Frick Middle School, Havenscourt Middle School, impacting those kids the same way – students, not just the kids that played on his teams. At Skyline High School, he was really trying to mold young men.”
Which Coach K says makes Beam’s loss so tragic, given he was at his place of work, doing what he does best – changing lives.
Beam is gone, but never forgotten.
Coach K and Coach Carter say they will work to embody his spirit going forward.
“To be a legendary, homegrown, Oakland legend, Bay Area legend – to lose him like that, it hurts,” Carter said.
“I love him and will continue to use him as a role model affecting others,” Kyriacou said.
Bishop O’Dowd has a football game Friday night and the Arizona Wildcats have a game on Saturday.
Coach Beam will be top of mind during those games. Coach Carter told us he’s dedicating the rest of the season to his friend and mentor.
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