Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is a survivor of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or at https://www.thehotline.org/
Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday morning and charged with third-degree felony assault on a family/household member, according to reports.
Beard was arrested by the Austin Police Department and processed at 5:18 a.m. CT on Monday, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. He was released before 3 p.m. CT.
Per a report from Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello of ESPN, Austin police responded to a “disturbance hotshot” call shortly after midnight CT. Disturbance hotshot incidents are “incidents in progress that are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety.” The felony charge for Beard included “impeding breath circulation.”
Texas released a formal statement regarding Beard’s arrest Monday morning.
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal situation.”
Beard’s attorney, Perry Minton, said Beard is not guilty of the charge and claimed his client was wrongly arrested.
“Coach Beard is 100 percent innocent of these charges,” Minton said, per Tony Plohetski of the Austin American-Statesman. “He should have never been arrested. The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.”
The charge that Beard faces, assault on a family or household member in which their breath was impeded, carries a possible punishment of two to 10 years in prison in the state of Texas, according to the Associated Press.
Beard’s contract stipulates that he can be fired for cause if the school’s administration determines that the coach’s conduct reflects poorly on himself, the team or the university, the AP reports.
Beard is in his second season as the coach at Texas, which is ranked No. 2 in the country in the most recent AP poll. The Longhorns (7–1) are scheduled to play host to Rice (6–2) on Monday at 7 p.m. CST.
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for more details.
