Felony charge against former Texas coach Chris Beard dropped two months following arrest

The domestic violence charge against former Texas basketball coach Chris Beard was dismissed Wednesday by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office roughly two months after Beard was initially arrested and faced with third-degree felony assault. Beard was fired for cause in early January, less than two weeks after his fiancée, Randi Trew, publicly recanted some of the allegations detailed in the police report.

“After a careful and thorough review of the evidence, recent public statements, and considering Ms. Trew’s wishes, our office has determined that the felony offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” the Travis County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. 

Austin police said they received a call at approximately 12:15 a.m. on Dec. 15 in regard to a disturbance call. Officers found a woman at the scene who said she had been assaulted and strangled by Beard, who was booked into jail within hours. By that evening, he was suspended by the school without pay.

Trew released a statement a week later claiming to be the initiator of the of the altercation. However, that was not enough to save Beard’s job. In a written response to Beard’s lawyer, the university maintained that Beard “engaged in unacceptable behavior that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university.”

Beard, 49, enjoyed a meteoric rise to the pinnacle of college basketball’s coaching ranks, which made his sudden fall all the more stunning. He was in his second season at Texas, his alma mater, after a successful five-year run at Texas Tech. Given his strong on-court track record, Beard’s coaching future will be a topic of debate in the months to come as athletic directors with coaching vacancies weigh the severity of the initial allegations against the charges ultimately being dismissed.