(UPDATE: 1:50 p.m.): Austin Police have released Coach Beard's mugshot and released a statement on the alleged incident. Read more below.
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The original story follows.
Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested on Monday morning and charged with third-degree felony assault on a family member in Austin, Texas, according to multiple reports.
An Austin police spokesperson said that the 49-year-old allegedly tried to strangle a person at a home in Tarrytown and officers responded to a 9-1-1 call at 2:07 a.m. local time on Monday. Beard was booked by police at 4:18 a.m.
According to Tony Plohetski of The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE, Beard remains in a Travis County Jail in downtown Austin and has not yet gone through the bond process.
Plohetski added that an attorney representing Beard says the coach is innocent of the charges filed against him.
If convicted, Beard faces up to ten years in prison.
Beard, a former player at Texas, was hired by the Longhorns in 2021 after coaching at Texas Tech for six years. He led the team to an NCAA tournament appearance in his first season and has the Longhorns off to a 7-1 start this season.
The university released the following statement regarding Beard's arrest.
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
This is a developing story
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