Travis County DA drops all charges against Chris Beard
Travis County district attorney Jose Garza announced Wednesday that his office has filed a motion to dismiss the case against former Texas men’s basketball head coach Chris Beard.
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Beard was fired for cause by Texas in January as a result of his December arrest for felony domestic assault with strangulation.
“Our office takes all domestic abuse cases seriously to ensure justice for the victims,” Garza said in a statement. “In every case, we are obligated to evaluate the facts and evidence and do our best to reach an outcome that will keep the victim and our community safe.”
The DA office said they filed the motion “after careful and thorough review of the evidence, recent public statements, and considering Ms. (Randi) Trew’s wishes” led it to determine the felony offense could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On January 5, Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte released the following statement upon the termination of Beard’s contract.
“The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard. 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. We thank Coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary leadership both on and off the court at a time when our team needed it most. 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.”
Beard’s attorney released a statement later that day.
“Chris Beard is crushed at the news he will not be coaching at the University of Texas. At the outset of Coach Beard’s suspension, The University promised they would conduct an independent investigation surrounding the allegations and make a decision regarding his employment only after they had done so. They proceeded to terminate Coach Beard without asking a single question of him or his fiancé. Since the arrest, there have only been positive developments clearly demonstrating his innocence. Additionally, it is my opinion shared by others that any potential charges against Coach Beard will be declined very soon. This is in addition to the statements made by his fiancé that emphatically state that the original reports were inaccurate. I am concerned that the University of Texas has made a terrible decision against the interest of the University, based on Twitter feeds and editorials –and not the facts concerning a truly innocent man. The University has violated their agreement with the coach and we are devastated.”
Beard was 29-13 as head coach of Texas. He has a 171-73 overall record as a head coach between stops at Little Rock, Texas Tech, and Texas
