Texas fires men’s basketball coach Chris Beard following felony assault charge

Texas has fired men’s basketball coach Chris Beard less than one month after he was arrested on a third-degree felony assault charge in Austin. Beard’s dismissal is effective immediately, the program announced.

Beard had been suspended since Dec. 12, 2022, the day of his arrest.
Interim head coach Rodney Terry will continue to serve in that role for the remainder of the season.

What they’re saying

“This has been a difficult situation that we’ve been diligently working through,” Texas vice president and athletics director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “We thank Coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary leadership both on and off the court at a time when our team needed it most. We are grateful he will remain the acting head coach for the remainder of the season. We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who throughout this difficult time have continued to make us proud to be Longhorns.”

Perry Minton, Beard’s attorney, said in a statement Beard is “crushed” that he will no longer be coaching at Texas.

“At the outset of Coach Beard’s suspension The University promised they would conduct an independent investigation surrounding the allegations and make a decision regarding his employment only after they had done so,” Minton said. “They proceeded to terminate Coach Beard without asking a single question of him or his fiance.”Since the arrest there have only been positive developments clearly demonstrating his innocence. … The University has violated their agreement with the coach and we are devastated.”

Backstory

Beard, 49, was charged with assault by strangulation/suffocation — family violence and booked into Travis County Jail, according to the Austin Police Department. APD said it received a 911 call for a disturbance around 1:15 a.m. ET.

“The caller reported the disturbance was no longer ongoing and one of the individuals had left the house,” police said. “APD officers responded and located a woman who stated she had been assaulted and strangled by Christopher Michael Beard.”

Less than two weeks later, Randi Trew, Beard’s fiancée, said in a statement to The Associated Press that she never wanted him arrested or prosecuted, adding that he didn’t attempt to strangle her.

“As Chris’ fiancée and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I played in this unfortunate event,” Trew said in the statement. “I realize that my frustration, when breaking his glasses, initiated a physical struggle between Chris and myself.”

Trew also said in her statement that Beard “did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening.

“Chris has stated that he was acting in self-defense, and I do not refute that. I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way. It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted.”

A university spokesperson said Texas was reviewing Trew’s statement following its release.

Beard’s bond was set at $10,000 during a hearing after his arrest, per the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. An additional condition of the bond requires Beard to stay 200 yards away from the victim and from his house as the case is pending. There is also a protection order in place, meaning Beard cannot communicate in a threatening way with the victim through Feb. 10.

Beard was in his second season with the Longhorns after taking over the program in April 2021. Prior to taking the job in Austin, he coached five seasons at Texas Tech.

Details of Beard’s contract

Texas has the right to terminate an employee of its state university for conduct unbecoming and for being charged with a felony.

In April 2021, when Texas signed Beard to a seven-year, $5 million annual deal, it included — per the Austin-American Statesman, which released a copy of the contract — a standard conduct clause written into every Longhorns coaching contract. It allows the university to terminate or suspend Beard with cause if, “Any conduct (a) that the University administration reasonably determines is clearly unbecoming to a Head Coach and reflects poorly on the University, the Program, or The University of Texas System; or (b) resulting in a criminal charge being brought against Head Coach involving a felony, or any crime involving theft, dishonesty, or moral turpitude.”

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Texas makes correct decision

Texas finally got around to the only remotely plausible course of action. University brass, all the way up to the Board of Regents, could be forgiven for taking time to run their own internal investigation before pulling the plug, up to including and factoring for the statement Trew gave publicly recanting much of what she allegedly told police on the night of the incident.

But really, once Beard was charged with a felony in the first place, the details of his contract, and the clause covering UT’s ability to fire him with cause for conduct unbecoming, including being charged with a felony, were very straightforward. However his legal situation plays out, as a handsomely paid UT professional there was simply no way for him to come back. – Brennan

How this impacts the Longhorns’ program

While acknowledging that the stakes of domestic violence are vastly higher and more important than basketball concerns, it is also not wrong to say that Texas men’s basketball will suffer as a result. When UT hired Beard 18 months ago, he was rightly hailed a savior for a program that had ostensibly underachieved for decades — an alumnus who had built Texas Tech into a national powerhouse before jumping for a job he simply couldn’t resist.

In just his second season, Beard and his staff had assembled a national-title-level squad. How many of these players will want to stick around? Their season continues, but if they don’t reach their potential, it’s hardly their fault. There are always other coaches, of course, but in the meantime, the current Longhorns roster might implode, and the promising trajectory of the program halted. – Brennan

Required reading

(Photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)