University of Texas basketball coach fired after domestic abuse allegation

05 January 2023 , 23:22

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Chris Beard is a University of Texas alumnus (Image: John Minchillo/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

The University of Texas have fired men’s head basketball coach Chris Beard after he was arrested on domestic violence charges last month. Texas announced the move on Thursday nearly a month to the day after Beard was arrested on the felony charge. Beard’s fiancée called local authorities in Austin when the two got into an argument where Beard allegedly choked and bit her, leaving his fiancée bruised.

The 49-year-old is facing a third-degree domestic violence charge in Travis County, and the case is pending. According to Travis County District Clerk records, Beard is yet to be indicted.

As the school fired Beard with cause, the Longhorns do not have to pay him the remainder of his base salary of $2million, which originally ran through the 2027/28 season. In addition to this, Texas are not obligated to pay Beard’s contract incentives, which has the scope to rise to more than an additional $1m per season.

University of Texas Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte released a statement following the news of Beard’s dismissal. His statement read: “This has been a difficult situation that we’ve been diligently working through.

“Today I informed Mr. Beard of our decision to terminate him effective immediately. 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.”

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Beard was arrested on the morning of December 12 after his fiancée, Randi Trew, told officers he choked her from behind and then bit and hit her when the two got in an argument. Beard’s attorney Perry Minton insisted at the time that Beard was ‘100% innocent of these charges’.

Chris Beard was in the second season of a seven-year contract with the University of Texas (Charlie Riedel/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

On December 23, Trew released a statement where she denied telling police that Beard choked her. Her statement read: “Chris 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.”

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Beard was given the opportunity to resign from his head coaching role but refused. He had been serving a suspension - without pay - since he was arrested on December 12.

Beard entered the Travis County jail but released the same day after posting bail. A Texas alumnus, Beard was hired as the Longhorns’ head coach in April 2021 following a successful stint with Texas Tech, where he led the Red Raiders to a national championship appearance in 2019.

Associate head coach Rodney Terry, who has been the acting head coach since Beard's suspension, will remain in charge for the rest of the season after leading Texas to five straight wins before a home loss to Kansas State on Tuesday. Texas was off to a 7-1 start before Beard's arrest.

Andrew Gamble