High school football standout jumps to his death off San Pedro cliff — coach drops powerful message ‘you are more important than football’

A famous California high school football coach delivered an emotional message after a star player leapt from a cliff at a popular seaside spot for suicides in Los Angeles.

Alexander Hamilton High School football coach Elijah Asante dropped his powerful statements on social media Saturday following the July 21 suicide of Yankees wide receiver Khadyn Perkins in coastal San Pedro.

Perkins, 19, also played cornerback on the varsity Hamilton team that competes in the CIF Los Angeles City Section Western League.

Asante is a well-known high school coach who came out of retirement in 2024 to revive Hamilton’s longstanding football program.

Perkins wore the number 16 jersey and graduated from Hamilton in 2025. His death was ruled a suicide by the office of the Los Angeles Medical Examiner, with traumatic injuries listed as his cause of death, with probable drowning as a contributing factor.

The Los Angeles fire department sent out a bulletin at 6:24 p.m. last Tuesday about fire companies responding to the area of the Sunken City in San Pedro for an individual in the water.

Firemen found Perkins already lifeless at the bottom of a cliff above the ocean. The address of the young player’s death was listed as 500 West Paseo Del Mar.

After the death of Perkins, Asante delivered an inspirational message to his community, telling his players that they are “more than football” and that they should ask for help in times of struggle.

“When life gets heavy, don’t carry it alone. Talk to your parents, talk to your coaches, talk to your teachers, talk to your teammates. There is strength and courage in asking for help,” said Asante.

The coach continued with words of wisdom for any young person struggling with life.

 “Your future is greater than your current pain. You won’t even remember some of the things you struggle with now in the future,” said Asante. “There are people who love you, believe in you, and will fight for you, even on the days when you don’t feel like fighting for yourself.”

Hamilton’s football team is a family, advised the coach, and players need to watch out for one another.

Sunken City is a historic, closed-off coastal landslide area on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The oceanside cliffs are known as a graffiti spot and hangout for local teens and feature the cracked foundations of fallen buildings and a tangle of broken streetcar tracks.

Sunken City is also a popular spot for suicides where many people have leapt to their deaths. So many people have died there that former Los Angeles CityCouncilman Joe Buscaino pushed for the installation of anti-suicide signage in 2015.

Hamilton is a famed Castle Hills high school founded in 1931. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass graduated from Hamilton in 1971.

The school boasts impressive alumni including Nipsey Hussle, Shia LaBeouf, and 1990 New York Giants Super Bowl champion wide receiver Stephen Baker.

Hamilton coach Asante is a working actor and the former head football coach of L.A. Jordan and Carson high schools. He’s known for wearing a suit and tie on the sidelines and coining the phrase, “I absolutely don’t recruit. I attract.”

Asante said Hamilton’s tight-knit team was hurting after the death of the popular player Perkins.

“No words can fully explain the pain we feel or answer every question in our hearts,” he said.

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