by AUSTIN, Texas — Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard, who led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA championship game and was signed by the Longhorns with the expectation that he would elevate his alma mater to the same level as elite, was arrested Monday early on a felony family violence charge after a woman told police he strangled and bit her.
The school suspended Beard without pay “until further notice.” Associate head coach Rodney Terry served as the interim head coach as the No. 7 needed overtime to beat Rice Monday night, 87-81.
Beard was arrested by Austin police and incarcerated in the Travis County Jail at 4:18 am CT Monday on charges of assaulting a family member or family member in which their breathing was restricted. The charge is a third-degree felony in Texas, with a possible sentence of two to 10 years in prison.
According to the arrest warrant first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, the woman told police she was his fiancée and that they had been in a relationship for six years. She said they had an argument in which she broke his glasses before he “attacked me and got super violent.”
According to the affidavit, the woman told police, “He choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, threw me around and went berserk.”
She told police Beard choked her from behind with his arm around her neck and she couldn’t breathe for about five seconds. Police say she had a bite mark on her right arm and an abrasion to her right temple among other visible injuries.
When questioned by police, Beard said he had audio tapes of the incident that would prove he was not the primary assailant. But he refused to share them with officers, police said.
Beard went before a magistrate judge for his bail hearing, wearing black and gray prison stripes and his hands cuffed in front of his waist. Beard was told he could communicate with the woman but not in a threatening manner, ordered to stay 200 meters from the residence where the police were called, and told he was barred from possessing a weapon from fire.
Beard nodded his head and replied “yes, sir” multiple times when addressing the judge. Jail records show that Beard posted $10,000 bond. He did not answer questions when he left prison with his lawyer Perry Minton.
Minton declined to comment, but previously told the American-Statesman the coach is innocent.
“He should never have been arrested,” Minton told the paper. “The plaintiff wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It’s truly inconceivable.”
It was not immediately known whether the woman had a lawyer. She was identified in the affidavit, but the Associated Press typically does not identify alleged victims of extreme violence without their consent.
“The university takes issues of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously,” the school said in announcing Beard’s suspension.
Terry was the head coach of UTEP (2018-21) and Fresno State (2011-18). He said after Monday night’s win against Rice that he has not spoken to Texas officials about his future as interim head coach. He also praised the Longhorns for their play against Rice in what he called one of the “toughest days” of his long coaching career.
“We have a very experienced staff who have done a great job up to this point right now, preparing our boys for this match. [Monday]“said Terry. “And our whole mission today was to control what we could control. I think our guys have done a great job showing a lot of grit and a lot of perseverance through a lot of adversity.
“They’ve earned themselves a day off to rehearse mentally and physically, try to regroup and recharge a bit. We’ll let those guys get away with some [Tuesday].”
Terry said he did not speak to Beard after he was released from jail on Monday. Terry also said he had not read the police affidavit detailing the allegations against the now suspended coach.
“I’ve been really focused on our guys today, really trying to rally them,” he said. “Knowing we should have come in tonight and played for 40 minutes. It wouldn’t have been an easy match for us.”
Beard, the 2019 AP Coach of the Year while at Texas Tech, is in his second season of a seven-year guaranteed contract at Texas that pays him more than $5 million a year. His contract includes a provision that he may be fired for conduct that management reasonably determines reflects poorly on the coach, program, school, or university system. This includes being charged with a felony.
University of Texas Board of Regents president Kevin Eltife did not return a message seeking comment.
Texas freshman guard Arterio Morris faces a misdemeanor family violence charge stemming from an arrest in June after an incident with a former girlfriend. He faces a court hearing Wednesday in Denton County near Dallas.
Morris, a top national recruit, was cleared to play this season despite the indictment, and is averaging 17 minutes and 6.5 points per game. Morris’s attorney, Justin Moore, said Morris is innocent of the assault charge.
Myron Medcalf of ESPN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
