Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday on a felony family violence charge. Check out why he has been arrested.
Chris Beard : Why has been arrested | Wife | Charges
After serving as a student manager and student assistant at the University of Texas for Tom Penders and a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian, Beard was an assistant coach at North Texas from 1997–1999.
From there, Beard was hired as head coach at Fort Scott Community College where he coached the team to a 19–12 record and its first winning season in 8 years.
In 2000, he was hired as the head coach at Seminole State College. In his one year there he went 25–6 and finished ranked 14th in the country.
Following that season, Beard was hired as an assistant and later associate head coach at Texas Tech to work under the legendary Bob Knight.
Why Chris Beard has been arrested
Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday morning and charged with assault on a family/household member, a third-degree felony, according to Tony Plohetski of the Austin American-Statesman and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Beard is reportedly still in police custody. Texas is scheduled to play Rice at home tonight. https://t.co/5vobo6jL7s
— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) December 12, 2022
Austin police reported to a “disturbance hot shot” at 12:15 a.m. local time, per Norlander.
According to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (via The Athletic), Beard’s official charge is “assault by strangulation/suffocation – family violence.”
Beard is engaged and has three daughters from a previous marriage.
“An additional condition of the bond requires Beard to stay 200 yards away from the victim and from his house as the case is pending. There is also a protection order in place, meaning Beard cannot communicate in a threatening way with the victim through Feb. 10, 2023.”
Dana O’Neil of The Athletic reported on Monday afternoon that it appears Beard is no longer in jail:
Chris Beard's name no longer appears in the Travis County inmate search. From my understanding from the office there, that means he is no longer in jail.
— Dana O'Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) December 12, 2022
The Longhorns are scheduled to face Rice at the Moody Center in Austin on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard,” the school said in a statement. “We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
Chris Beard wife
The basketball coach and Leslie tied the knot on Aug. 31, 1996.
They have three daughters, Avery, Ella and Margo. Leslie and Chris both have strong ties to Texas and have graduated from the same high school.
Right now, it is unknown whether Chris Beard’s wife was a victim of domestic violence. However, we should be able to get more information soon.
No matter who the victim was, this behavior was unacceptable and the Texas Longhorns head coach will most likely be either fired or suspended following the incident.
Charges
Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard, 49 was arrested early Monday morning after allegedly strangling a person at a home. Beard was booked at 4:18 a.m. CT with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office seeking a felony third-degree assault charge, according to police records.
Police responded to a “disturbance hot shot” 9-1-1 call, defined as “incidents which are in progress and are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety (i.e. shootings, stabbings, rapes, riots). These calls are dispatched immediately.”
The Austin Police Department issued this release Monday afternoon regarding Beard’s arrest: “On December 12, 2022, at approximately 12:15 a.m., the Austin Police Department (APD) received a 9-1-1 call for a disturbance in the 1900 block of Vista Lane.
The caller reported the disturbance was no longer ongoing and one of the individuals had left the house. APD officers responded and located a woman who stated she had been assaulted and strangled by Christopher Michael Beard.
Beard was booked into Travis County Jail. He is charged with Assault by Strangulation/Suffocation – Family Violence, a third degree felony.”
Beard, who remains in police custody, went before a magistrate judge in Austin Municipal Court on Monday afternoon and had his bail set at $10,000, according to official court records.
There is a protective order active until at least Feb. 10, 2023, the terms of which prevent Beard from being within 200 yards of the alleged victim or the residence at which the 9-1-1 call was made. Beard is also not allowed to carry a firearm at this time.