Law enforcement in Austin, Texas arrested Longhorns men’s basketball coach Chris Beard overnight.
The Texas head coach faces a charge of assault on a family member after the incident. Austin police confirmed Beard’s arrest early Monday morning.
Tony Plohetski, an investigative reporter in Austin, tweeted the news of Beard’s arrest. Plohetski said, “University of Texas head men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested and charged with assault on a family member early Monday, Austin police confirm.”
BREAKING: University of Texas head men's basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested and charged with assault on a family member early Monday, Austin police confirm. We are attempting to learn more.
— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) December 12, 2022
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports tweeted an additional, shocking detail. Norlander tweeted, “Austin Police responded to a ‘disturbance hot shot,’ per spokesperson, at 12:15 a.m. to the 1900 block of Vista Lane. Beard was charged in the 4 a.m. hour.”
Austin Police responded to a "disturbance hot shot," per spokesperson, at 12:15 a.m. to the 1900 block of Vista Lane.
Beard was charged in the 4 a.m. hour.
Texas AD Chris Del Conte has not yet responded to CBS Sports' request for comment.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) December 12, 2022
Police in Austin charged Beard with a third-degree felony according to Norlander. “Beard was booked on third-degree assault against a family member,” Norlander tweeted.
Texas athletics released a statement on the incident. The statement read, via Norlander, “The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
JUST IN: Texas statement
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) December 12, 2022
Texas law is extremely tough on family violence. According to a criminal defense office in the state, Beard could face a very harsh penalty over his alleged crime. They wrote, “Even if it was a first-time offense, choking can still lead to being charged with a third-degree felony carrying up to 2-10 years in a Texas prison.”
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence at 800-799-7233 and visit www.thehotline.org.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022