BREAKING: Texas FIRES basketball coach Chris Beard three weeks after his arrest for “choking his fiancee,” who has since retracted her domestic violence allegations
The Texans fired men’s basketball coach Chris Beard on Thursday after he was arrested Dec. 12 for allegedly choking his fiancee.
Beard had been suspended without pay since his arrest, and school officials said there was an ongoing internal investigation.
Police responded to a 911 call at Beard’s home after midnight on December 12 and arrested him after Beard’s fiancé, Randi Trew, told officers he choked, bit and punched her from behind as the two got into an argument.
Beard’s attorney has said the trainer is innocent, and Trew has since issued a statement denying Beard choked her.
Texas fired basketball coach Chris Beard Thursday while he faces charges of domestic violence in the family stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fiancee
Police responded to a 911 call at Beard’s home after midnight on December 12 and arrested him after Beard’s fiancée, Randi Trew (left), told officers he choked, bit and punched her from behind as the two got into an argument got
The Associated Press received the resignation letter, which was sent to Beard’s attorney. Beard had five years left on a guaranteed seven-year contract, which included a stipulation that if he was charged with a felony, he could be fired on cause.
Charges of assault by strangulation/asphyxiation and domestic violence can carry a prison sentence of two to ten years if convicted.
The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of extreme violence, but Trew issued a public statement on December 23 denying she told police Beard choked her. She also said she never intended to arrest or prosecute him.
“Chris did not strangle me, and I made that known to law enforcement that night,” Trew said in her statement. “Chris has stated he acted in self-defense and I don’t dispute that. I don’t think Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way.’
Trew’s testimony did not address why she called 911 or other details in the police report, such as bite marks and abrasions on her face and the officers’ statement that she could not breathe for about five seconds.
According to the arrest affidavit, Trew first told police that she and Beard got into an argument in which she broke his glasses before he “just jumped on me and got super violent.” Police reported Trew said Beard knocked her glasses off her face and “choked me, bit me, bruised my whole leg, threw me around and drove me crazy”.
Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard, second from left, exits the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas Monday, December 12
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has not responded to previous requests for comment on Beard’s case or whether Trew’s Dec. 23 statement would change the prosecutor’s approach to the felony indictment.
According to online records, a court hearing is scheduled for January 18.
Trew is a longtime volleyball coach who resigned from her position at a Texas high school in 2020, just before Beard accepted the coaching position at Austin.
Beard led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA tournament championship game and was hired in Texas in 2021 with the expectation that he would elevate his alma mater to the same elite level. He had the Longhorns program going that season, starting 6-0 and ranked as high as No. 2.
Assistant head coach Rodney Terry took his place during Beard’s suspension. The Longhorns (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) won their first five games under Terry before losing 116-103 to Kansas State on Tuesday.