Dec. 12 (UPI) — Texas suspended men’s basketball coach Chris Beard indefinitely and without pay on Monday, after he was arrested and charged with felony assault on a family member following a “hot shot disturbance” call at a residence in Austin, authorities said.
“The university takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously,” the school said in a statement. “Given the information available, the university has suspended Chris Beard from his position as head coach of men’s basketball and will withhold his pay until further notice.”
Beard was released from police custody Monday on $10,000 bail and is under a protective order through Feb. 23. Under the terms of the order, Beard is required to stay more than 200 yards from the woman, who remains unidentified, and the residence where the 911 call was made. He is also not allowed to carry firearms.
A spokesman from the Austin Police Department told UPI that officers received a call from the residence at about 12:15 a.m. local time. The department defines a “hot shot” as an incident that is in progress and is an “immediate threat to life and/or public safety.” Those calls require immediate dispatch.
Beard, 49, was booked into Travis County Jail at 5:18 a.m. Monday. He was charged with assault by strangulation/suffocation — family violence, which is a third-degree felony, according to the Austin Police Department.
The third-degree felony carries potential punishments of two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, according to the Texas penal code.
According to the affidavit for Beard’s arrest as reported by CBS Sports, the woman told police that Beard “choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts.”
“Coach Beard is 100 percent innocent of these charges. He should never have been arrested.The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable,” Beard’s attorney, Perry Minton of Austin, said in a statement.
“We are continuing to gather information and monitor the legal process,” Texas said in a news release.
Beard led the Longhorns to a 7-1 record through eight games this season. Texas hired the former Texas Tech and Little Rock coach in 2021.
The Longhorns hosted Rice on Monday night in Austin, where Associate Head Coach Rodney Terry served as acting head coach. The Longhorns won 87-81.
The team will host Stanford on Sunday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
