Texas Longhorns basketball SUSPENDS its coach Chris Beard without pay after arrest

The Texas Longhorns basketball team has suspended its coach Chris Beard without pay, after he was arrested Monday for allegedly ‘strangling a family member’.

Beard was booked for third-degree assault at 4:18 a.m. Monday, and the team released a statement later that day confirming that he would not be present with the team for the foreseeable future.

‘The University takes seriously issues of interpersonal violence involving members of its community. Given the information available, the University has suspended Chris Beard from his position as head men’s basketball coach and will withhold his pay until further notice,” the school said.

Austin police were called to his home Monday, where a woman claims she was “assaulted and strangled” by the 49-year-old man.

Austin police say they received a “riot” call after midnight and officers were dispatched to Vista Lane in a residential area of ​​the Texas capital. Beard has a registered address on that street (pictured)

Beard has now been suspended by the Texas Longhorns basketball team without pay.

He posted $10,000 bail and was later released from the Travis County Jail. An arrest affidavit is not currently available, according to the Travis County Clerk’s office.

Beard’s attorney, Perry Minton, told the Austin American-Statesman that his client “is 100 percent innocent of these charges.”

“He never should have been arrested,” Minton told the newspaper. The whistleblower wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.

Texas basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested on felony domestic violence charges after allegedly strangling a family member, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Austin police say they received a “riot” call after midnight and officers were dispatched to the 1900 block of Vista Lane in a residential area of ​​the Texas capital. Beard has a registered address on that street.

A so-called ‘hotshot’ is described on the department’s website as ‘incidents that are in progress’ [that] are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety.’

The Longhorns currently rank second overall in the Associated Press poll at 7-1, and are scheduled to host in-state rival Rice on Monday night.

Associate Head Coach Rodney Terry will serve as interim head coach for the game and is expected to continue in the role for the days and weeks ahead.

Beard is currently in his second season at Texas after leaving Texas Tech in 2021.

Beard and his wife, Leslie, have three daughters, according to his bio from Angelo State University, where he trained from 2013 to 2015.

Beard and the Longhorns went 22-12 last season before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Since then, the 49-year-old has coached at Little Rock and Texas Tech, where he was named AP National Coach of the Year in 2019 while leading the Red Raiders to the NCAA title game. Ultimately, Texas Tech would lose to Virginia, but the tournament run would help Beard sign a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Texas athletic department in April 2021.

Beard and the Longhorns went 22-12 last season before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

You could be fired for cause as a result of your arrest, which means you wouldn’t be owed the rest of your contract.

As it stands, you have now been suspended and will not be paid while the investigation is ongoing.

This is the second arrest at the Texas men’s basketball program this year, following Arterio Morris, who is facing a misdemeanor charge of family violence following an alleged incident with his ex-girlfriend. Morris is due in court for a hearing in the case on Wednesday.