by Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard, 49, was arrested early Monday morning after alleged strangulation of a person in a house. Beard was booked at 4:18 am CT by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office on a felony third-degree assault, according to police records.
Police responded to a 9-1-1 call of “disturbance” defined as “ongoing incidents that pose an immediate threat to life and/or public safety (e.g., shootings, stabbings, rapes, riots). These calls are dispatched immediately.”
The Austin Police Department released this statement Monday afternoon regarding Beard’s arrest: “On December 12, 2022, at approximately 12:15 p.m., the Austin Police Department (APD) received a 9-1 call- 1 for a disturbance in the 1900 block of Vista Lane. The caller reported that the disturbance was no longer ongoing and one of the individuals had left the house. APD officers responded and located a woman who said she had been attacked and strangled by Christopher Michael Beard. Beard was booked in the Travis County Jail. He is charged with assault by strangulation/choking – family violence, a misdemeanor in the third degree.”
On Monday night, Texas suspended Beard indefinitely and without pay.
“The University takes issues of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously,” the school said in a statement. “Given the information available, the University has suspended Chris Beard from his position as head coach of men’s basketball and will withhold his pay until further notice. Associate head coach Rodney Terry will serve as the interim head coach for tonight’s game against Rice”.
Beard, who is out of police custody, went before a magistrate judge in Austin Municipal Court on Monday afternoon and his bail was set at $10,000, according to official court documents. There is an active protection order until at least February 10, 2023, the terms of which prevent Beard from being within 200 yards of the alleged victim or the residence where the 9-1-1 call was made. Beard is also not authorized to carry firearms at this time. Additionally, while Beard is permitted to communicate with the complainant in the case, he is strictly prohibited from doing so in any threatening or intimidating manner.
On Monday, several media outlets acquired the affidavit for Beard’s arrest. In the arrest report, the alleged victim told police that Beard “choked me, threw me out of bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, threw me around and went berserk.”
The victim also told police that she “just didn’t feel safe”.
Beard’s attorney released the following statement to local media on Monday morning. In it, the attorney says the complainant wants to drop the charge against Beard.
Texas stole Beard from Big 12 rival Texas Tech in 2021. With the Red Raiders and during his brief stint with Little Rock, Beard rocketed to the top of the coaching ranks as one of the sport’s rising stars. Beard went 30-5 in one season at Little Rock, advancing to the NCAA Tournament, before spending five seasons at Texas Tech where he went 112-55 and competed for the national championship in 2019.
Beard, former team manager of the Longhorns under Tom Penders, had a fast start to his alma mater. Texas reached the NCAA Tournament and won 22 games in its first season. Texas is 7-1 to start the 2022-23 season, having reached No. 2 in the AP Top 25.
