On Friday, Shawn Coates passed away at home. He was 52 years old.
Coates was found dead at his residence. The cause of death is not known at this time.
Most recently, Coates served as the Executive Director of Football Manitoba. Previously, he was the CFL’s Director of Operations and also spent five years as Director of Media and Public Relations of the Winnipeg Football Club. Coates also did a stint as Communications Director at University of Winnipeg. Overall, he spent over 20 years in the Manitoba sporting scene
Aside from these roles, Coates was a talented photojournalist. Many media sites, including CanadaFootballChat.com featured his work. This site used many of his photographs of team and sporting events from the Manitoba region.
Yesterday, the CFL issued a statement on Coates passing:
“The Canadian Football League deeply mourns the passing of Shawn Coates, a former Director of Football Operations for the league, a former member of the staff of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a passionate champion of our game and a dear friend to so very many in the sport and media community.
“Shawn’s passion for Canadian football ran as deep as you will find,” said Michael Copeland, President and Chief Operating Officer of the CFL. “He brought energy, enthusiasm and a winning smile to those around him. The league has lost a great friend, and he will be missed.”
CanadaFootballChat.com expresses our sincerest condoldences to Coates’ family and the football community at this time.
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