Despite Victory, 49ers Coach Gave An Heartbreaking Speech mourning the death of their quarterback C.J. Beathard’s brother
Though many were excited about the San Francisco 49ers eliminating the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams from playoff contention, the team was mourning the death of their quarterback C.J. Beathard’s brother.
Following their 34-31 victory, coach Kyle Shanahan gave an emotional speech to the players, many of whom were tearful when thinking of Clayton Beathard. The 22-year-old was fatally stabbed during a fight on Saturday morning outside the Dogwood Bar & Grill in Nashville.
“I didn’t know what to say to you guys in the beginning in the day because you know what happened last night,” Shanahan, 40, told his team.
C.J., 26, missed the Saturday evening game to be with his family following news of his younger brother’s death.
“Having to go spend an hour with C.J. last night and just being with him during that. You guys know how tough it is for him and his family,” Shanahan shared. “I spent an hour with him last night, he was exactly what anyone of us would’ve been last night — distraught, struggling to talk.”
Teammates wiped tears from their eyes as Shanahan recalled the heartbreaking conversation he had with C.J. “He barely could talk and the last thing he said to me when I walked out the door, he stopped and just goes, ‘You make sure the guys go out and win this game.’ I didn’t want to say that at the beginning because this game doesn’t mean anything compared to his brother, we all know that,” the coach said.
“But you guys also know C.J. And he’s got our backs as much as any of us got his. It’s a special day for us, I’m so thankful that you guys can do that for him because that was the last thing he said to me and I know that’s still meant a lot to him so I appreciate you guys for that,” Shanahan concluded.
Leave a Reply