The Longhorns have finally made a decision and I can’t blame them for it.
Chris Beard, who was the head coach of the Texas men’s basketball program, was fired by the school Jan. 5 less than a month after he was suspended without pay for being arrested on a domestic family violence charge.
Longhorns associate head coach Rodney Terry, who has been in the role of acting coach since Beard was suspended, will remain in that position for the rest of the season.
The athletic director of the University of Texas, Chris Del Conte, released a statement Jan. 5 on Beard’s firing:
“The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard,” said Del Conte. “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.”
BREAKING: Texas has fired head coach Chris Beard, per @MattNorlander.
“[He is] fired with cause on a seven year deal that was worth $35 million through 2028 — that is no more.” pic.twitter.com/TI1xjLQm1D
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) January 5, 2023
To make this situation even more juicy, Texas’ vice president of legal affairs, Jim Davis, sent a letter to Perry Minton — who is the attorney for Chris Beard — and holy hell was the final shot towards Beard a dandy.
The letter from UT VP of Legal Affairs Jim Davis to Chris Beard’s attorney Perry Minton certainly doesn’t hold anything back – but this final parting shot is something else: pic.twitter.com/iCxEWNZhLM
— Bob Ballou (@BobBallouSports) January 5, 2023
Wow, what an insane situation. (RELATED: Texas A&M Forced To Start Game Against Florida Down 1-0 After Causing Delay Due To Forgetting Jerseys At Team Hotel)
This whole story started in early December when the original report came out about him being arrested over allegedly “choking out” his fiancée, who later tried to retracted her allegations later on. Beard got fired anyway.