Texas basketball coach Chris Beard’s domestic violence charges revealed

Chris Beard, the University of Texas men’s basketball coach who was brought to Austin so the Longhorns could return to prominence, has been arrested for domestic violence.

Beard was arrested early Monday, Dec. 12, and charged with assault on a family member, according to the Austin American Statesman. He was later released on $10,000 bond and suspended without pay “until further notice” from the university.

An affidavit says that just after midnight an officer who responded to a 911 call was met by a woman who said she was Beard’s fiancee and that the couple had relationship issues for several days and were angry One against the other.

When the law enforcement official asked if the verbal arguments had turned physical, she said yes.

“He just cracked me up and got super violent,” the woman said.

The woman said she took Beard’s reading glasses on her head and broke them, to which Beard also allegedly slapped the woman’s glasses in her face.

Then, according to the affidavit, Beard “choked me, threw me out of bed, bit me, bruised my whole leg, threw me everywhere and drove me crazy.” The report further states that Beard went behind the woman, wrapping an arm around her neck and began to choke her for approximately five seconds, preventing her from breathing.

As police investigated the scene, Beard said he had proof he was not the attacker, but would not share the cheering audio recordings with authorities, the Statesman reported.

The affidavit, however, pointed to these injuries to the woman:

• bite on the right forearm
• right eyebrow abrasion
• abrasion on left leg from knee to foot
• left thumb cut with dried blood

“In a separate statement, the woman complained of scratches to her back and right eye, a bite wound to her right arm, a scrape and bruise to her left leg, and a cut on her left leg. left hand,” said the Statesman reported.

Beard is a 1995 UT graduate who has spent many years in the coaching profession, including stints as head coach at Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State College, McMurry University, Angelo State and Arkansas- Little Rock before landing the head coaching job at Texas Tech University. He led Texas Tech to the Final Four in 2019, where the Red Raiders lost the national championship that season in overtime.

Beard arrived at Forty Acres in Austin starting in 2021, and his Longhorns team is opening a new arena (Moody Center) this season. He has a contract with Texas that brings in about $5 million a year, on average, per Statesman.

There’s a clause in his contract, like all UT-Austin coaching contracts, that says he could be terminated for any “criminal charges” brought against him.

“Any conduct (a) that the administration of the University reasonably determines is clearly unbecoming of a head coach and reflects poorly on the University, the program or the system of the University of Texas; or (b) results in an accusation charge against the head coach involving a felony, or any crime involving theft, dishonesty or moral turpitude.”

Texas, which is ranked No. 7 in the nation with an 8-1 record, beat Rice, 87-81, in Austin on Monday night. Assistant coach Rodney Terry has taken charge of the team until further notice.