Beard booked on third-degree felony for strangulation
The Texas Longhorns will be without head coach Chris Beard for an indefinite period of time after he was arrested for allegedly strangling a family member. Police responded to an urgent domestic violence call after midnight on Monday morning and Beard was taken into custody by the Austin Police Department.
The University of Texas issued a statement saying: “The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
Austin police reported that the original 911 call was defined as a “hotshot call – incidents in progress that are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety”. Per Austin Statesman and KVUE investigative reporter Tony Plohetski, who originally broke the story, Beard had not seen a judge about bail as of 9 a.m. and the charge of a third-degree felony carries up to 10 years in prison.
Beard’s attorney, Perry Minton, also made a statement, saying "Coach Beard is 100% innocent of these charges. He should have never been arrested. The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable."
The Longhorns were ranked No. 2 last week, but lost to Illinois, so they’ll stay in or around the Top 5 when the new college basketball rankings are released later today. Texas also has a game tonight against Rice, where it would appear that assistant coach Rodney Terry will take over the head coaching duties.
Texas is still lined as a 24-point favorite at DraftKings for the game against Rice, but the line had moved from -26.5 to as high as -28 before the news of Beard’s arrest broke. (Latest college basketball odds)
