As the head coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of Texas, Chris Beard was officially taken into custody in the wee hours of the morning on Monday and slammed with charges of third-degree assault against a family member.
49-year-old Beard was put into police custody in the wake of Austin Police forces reportedly responding to a “disturbance hot shot,” that the department claims are incidents that “are in progress and are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety (i.e. shootings, stabbings, rapes, riots).”
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
A response was given by the University of Texas to local media outlets in a brief statement to the public.
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard,” the statement expressed. “We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
Texas has released the following statement on Chris Beard. pic.twitter.com/nxa3TwDPxH
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 12, 2022
Beard has held the position of head coach for the University of Texas team for a stint of just over two years now in the wake of his signing of a seven-year total contract that was slated to pay out to him a salary of around $5 million per year.
As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, a clause cited within his contract lets the school suspend, or all the way up to terminate him, if “any conduct (a) that the University administration reasonably determines is clearly unbecoming to a Head Coach and reflects poorly on the University, the Program, or The University of Texas System; or (b) resulting in a criminal charge being brought against Head Coach involving a felony, or any crime involving theft, dishonesty, or moral turpitude.”
