Hours after learning teammate C.J. Beathard’s younger brother was stabbed to death, the San Francisco 49ers had to take the field to play a Saturday night football game.
Before the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan was with Beathard, comforting him in the wake of his 22-year-old brother Clayton’s death. When Shanahan got up to leave, he said the quarterback stopped him.
“You make sure the guys go win this game,” Beathard said.
They did, pulling out a 34-31 win over the Rams on a field goal as time expired.
After the game, Shanahan gave a brief speech to the team and told them for the first time about Beathard’s words.