John Beam, the legendary football coach who featured in Netflix’s Last Chance U series, is in critical condition after being shot in the head during an incident on Laney College campus in Oakland, according to NBC News. “From what I understand, it’s critical. It’s tense up there,” said Benjie Ross, who played college football under Beam in the 1980s, San Francisco Chronicle reported. Oakland Police declined to offer an update on Beam’s condition out of respect for his family, but said he was shot by a man in a black hoodie who fled the scene on Thursday. Beam, the athletics director at Laney College for more than four decades, was described as a father figure to thousands who “turned boys into men.” The championship-winning coach had “a way of connecting with young men,” which motivated them to improve themselves, a former student said. “Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland — a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee wrote on Instagram. “For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family.” Beam gained national recognition in 2020 when he was featured on Netflix’s Last Chance U, an eight-part docuseries that followed Beam and the Laney Eagles football team.
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