Authorities arrested and charged the head coach of the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns men’s basketball team on Monday with a family assault charge, per reports from Austin-based media outlets.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that the university suspended Chris Beard without pay and the program entered its matchup against Rice with associate head coach Rodney Terry filling in for his boss.
A UT-issued press release obtained by KXAN said that the institution takes “matters of interpersonal violence of which members of its community are the focus seriously.”
Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported that the Austin Police Department (APD) responded to a "disturbance-urgent" 911 call that was made shortly after midnight on Monday morning from the affluent Tarrytown neighborhood on the state capital’s west side.
A department spokesperson said investigators allege the 49-year-old Beard strangled someone at the residence and officers at the scene spoke to a woman purported to be the victim, KVUE reported.
Citing Travis County Jail records, KVUE reported that Beard was booked at the facility at 4:18 a.m. and is facing a felony "assault on a family/household member-impede breath circulation” charge.
The station reported that the coach paid a $10,000 bond and was ordered to stay 200 feet away from where the incident occurred.
A UT basketball official reportedly fetched Beard from the Travis County Jail nearly 12 hours after he was taken there.
An attorney representing Beard asserted that his client is “100% innocent,” Austin CBS affiliate KEYE reported.
“He should have never been arrested,” Perry Q. Minton said, according to the station. “The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.”
The No. 7 Longhorns under Terry eked out a 87-81 home win over Rice.