The San Francisco 49ers played with aching hearts Saturday after hearing about quarterback CJ Beathard's brother—who had just been killed in Nashville, USA Today reports. Clayton Beathard, 22, was one of two men fatally stabbed outside a bar in what police say was an argument over a woman. The dispute "began inside Dogwood Bar and then turned physical when the parties went outside," Nashville police say. "Multiple persons were involved in the outdoor fight during which the two men were both fatally stabbed in their sides. A third stabbing victim, a 21-year-old man, was treated and released." The other victim was Beathard's friend, Paul Trapeni III, also 21. For more, including video from the bar:
- Beathard and Trapeni were taken from the crime scene to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and died there, per the Washington Post. Police have released photos and video of four people of interest but haven't arrested anyone yet.
- Footage from the bar shows the four people of interest gather in front of a booth, per the Commercial Appeal. See the video here.
- "Clay was an amazing, big and soft hearted human being with an undeniable love for the Lord," the family says in a statement. "He had his family's, friends' and teammates' backs even to a fault. I wish he would have been more inclined to take the high road but he hated 'wrong.'"
- Beathard played football at Long Island University and had a family brimming with success, per the Tennessean. His brother Tucker Beathard is a musician, his father Casey Beathard a country music songwriter, and grandfather Bobby Beathard a Hall of Famer who won four Super Bowls as an NFL general manager.
- CJ Beathard took time away from the 49ers after getting the news, reports TMZ. "He was exactly like any one of us would have been: distraught, struggling to talk," coach Kyle Shanahan told the team in a moving speech after they beat the Los Angeles Rams, 34-31. "And the last he said to me when I walked out the door ... he just goes, 'You make sure the guys go win this game.'" Some players were visibly in tears.
- "When he comes back, we'll be there for him," 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman told ESPN. "We'll be in his corner, we'll talk to him, we'll stay with him. ... Football is a game, it's a game kids play, it's not that important. What he lost is something that's irreplaceable. That's family."
(In related news, college football recently lost a
beloved figure.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
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