Who will coach the Texas Longhorns following the firing of head coach Chris Beard?
Regardless of the twists and turns in the scenario, what is clear is that the Longhorns coach engaged in violent behavior against his fiancée, which simply can’t be tolerated.
Though it took some time, it seems the university has finally taken a stance where their coach was concerned and it’s worth noting that it appears to be one of no tolerance - quite rightly so.
Texas fire Chris Beard following assault of fiancée
According to an announcement from the program on Thursday, Texas fired basketball coach Chris Beard. The news comes almost a month after Beard was arrested on a third-degree felony assault charge for allegedly strangling, biting and assaulting his fiancée in their home.
“The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “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.” To be clear, it is understood that Beard was fired for cause. What that means, is that he will not be entitled to any salary or buyout money from the seven-year, $35 million contract he signed with the Longhorns ahead of the 2021-22 season. That deal was set to run through 2028.
A war of Words: Beard vs University of Texas
Regarding the details of Beard’s case and what has happened since his arrest, there appear to be contradicting messages coming from both sides. It is understood that after learning that the University intended to fire Beard, his attorney, Perry Minton, sent a lengthy letter to James Davis, the UT vice president of legal affairs on Thursday morning. “Your update to me this morning came as a shock, coming so far into this process and after positive developments that firmly support Coach Beard’s declaration that he is innocent of any crime and has not done anything that ‘(a) is unbecoming a head coach and reflects poorly on the University or (b) resulted in felony criminal charges.’ He was arrested, then his fiancée retracted her previously reported statement, and I expect that the Travis County District Attorney is very soon going to decline any and all charges in the matter.”
Then, there was the university’s response to Minton: “Chris Beard engaged in unacceptable behavior that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university. There seems to be an incorrect underlying assumption that the criminal process outcome dictates Mr. Beard’s employment outcome. But these are different processes, where different decision makers are weighing different factors. We understand that some but not all of the reports of Mr. Beard’s behavior were retracted. ...It is his actual behavior that we consider, not whether some acts also constitute a crime.” Following the university’s response, Minton again issued a statement in which he explained that Beard is “crushed at the news.” He then went on to question the real motives behind Beard’s termination, as well as the institutions level of knowledge about the case. “They proceeded to terminate Coach Beard without asking him a single question of him or his fiancée,” Minton wrote.
What do we know about the Chris Beard’s situation?
It was back on December 12th, when Texas suspended Beard indefinitely without pay following his arrest. In addition, to his suspension, he was also barred from having access to the team. “The University takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously,” UT said at the time. Regarding what Beard was accused of, the arrest report from the night of incident includes a statement from Randi Trew, Beard’s fiancée, who told police that Beard “choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts.”
Curiously, on December 23rd, Trew walked back on her original statement as she offered a new take on the scenario through her lawyer, in which she claimed that she herself initiated the “struggle.” Further to that, she also disclosed that Beard did not strangle her the night she called 911 in the early hours of December 12th and moreover, that she did not tell police otherwise, despite what is contained in the arrest report. It’s also worth noting that according to Trew, Beard acted in self-defense. While Trew’s claims definitely shed a different light on the situation, it’s important to understand that Police did in fact document visible wounds and signs of struggle on her body during the interview on December 12th. Indeed, Trew reportedly told Austin Police, “I could not breathe; he did it probably for like 5 seconds.” In contrast, she would later say, “It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted.” As things stand, the felony charge against Beard has not been dropped by the District Attorney’s Office in Austin, Texas. That’s to say, that unless that changes Beard’s next day in court will be on January 18th.
Rodney Terry takes over as interim coach
Since Beard was suspended, the No. 6 ranked Texas Longhorns have won five of six games under the stewardship of interim coach Rodney Terry, meaning they now sit on a 12-2 record. Their next game is against Oklahoma on Saturday. “We thank Coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary leadership both on and off the court at a time when our team needed it most,” Del Conte said. “We are grateful he will remain the acting head coach for the remainder of the season. We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who throughout this difficult time have continued to make us proud to be Longhorns.”