Talk:John Beam

Discussion about notability

Is he notable outside of being shot and being featured in the Last Chance U documentary? I'm not too big into football, but this topic doesn't seem to meet WP:NOTE BLITZKRIEGCAT (talk) 21:25, 14 November 2025 (UTC)

I'm seeing coverage from 1997, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2024, in addition to the sources already present in the article. Add that to the inevitable coverage of the court proceedings and I think we have a pretty notable subject. Also note that WP:BLP1E does not extend to WP:BLP2E. Bremps... 03:16, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Ok, I see your point. Thank you. BLITZKRIEGCAT (talk) 05:13, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Most of his notability, up until this week would have been the tv show he was on. In the football world, as a junior college coach, he'd be considered more respected than notable. Players would go thru his program, then maybe a Div 1 school, and then a few make it to the NFL. Really though anyone who's seen Last Chance U is pretty much scratching their head in shock on this one. He wasn't a bombastic blowhard like the other coaches on the show, but he was definitely successful enough at what he did to run the school's whole program. His shooting and now death is getting a good amount of news coverage, but it's also just an unusual tragedy. His bio should be improved as more info comes out, so I'd say keep it. ~2025-33789-42 (talk) 05:42, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

I think that Beam was mostly known for being featured in Last Chance U. We did not have a Wikipedia article about him prior to his death. If he did continue to survive from a gunshot wound, the article could also have existed with a plenty of sources requiring a significant coverage about him. ~2025-33408-48 (talk) 19:58, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

John Bean

He was shot on the Laney campus in Oakland on 11/14/25 and died shortly after. Very sad. Radgama730 (talk) 21:35, 14 November 2025 (UTC)

The subject's last name is Beam (not Bean). The article is expanding to cover these events as more information becomes available. General Ization ^Talk 23:34, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Request on a Wiki page on the "Killing of John Bean".

I have a request for a Wiki page on the death of John Bean, since this became national headlines. ~2025-32862-97 (talk) 23:49, 14 November 2025 (UTC)

It probably won't be needed. We only create separate pages for deaths when the death itself generates so much coverage that the information is best presented as separate from the main biography. (Kirk, Epstein, JFK, etc.) Beam's death has not generated that much coverage. Bremps... 03:05, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

The WP:AVOIDSPLIT guideline suggests:

Editors are cautioned not to immediately split articles if the new article would meet neither the general notability criteria nor the specific notability criteria for their topic. In this case, editors are encouraged to work on further developing the parent article first, locating coverage that applies to both the main topic and the subtopic. Through this process, it may become evident that subtopics or groups of subtopics can demonstrate their own notability, and thus can be split off into their own article.

—Bagumba (talk) 23:26, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Noting that the subject's last name is Beam (not Bean), also see WP:BLP1E. If not for his other reasons for notability, the proposed article name would be a better name for this article, but given that he is otherwise notable, the present article should cover both those exploits and the circumstances of his death. However, a redirect might be in order. General Ization ^Talk 23:30, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Date of birth

The Mercury News with regards to its November 14th article of John Beam reports that Beam was born in January 1959 without mentioning the day of his birth. However, Beam's tweet on January 11th this year states he was 66 that day, even though the tweet clearly does not mention his date of birth. Is this acceptable as a Twitter source as per Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published or questionable sources as sources on themselves? ~2025-33408-48 (talk) 01:40, 25 November 2025 (UTC)