Updated March 8: Chris Beard is becoming the favorite for the position of men’s basketball head coach at Ole Miss, according to ESPN, citing sources. Beard was fired from his position at the University of Texas following an arrest on December 12, 2022.
Chris Beard’s coaching career will end when he wants it to, not when someone else decides for him. In the United States, biting and strangling a woman in your home is not enough to keep a good trainer away, even if your the former employer still upholds the decision to terminate you for cause even after the initial fee waived.
According to a ESPN report, Beard is the leading candidate for the position of men’s basketball head coach at Ole Miss, as the two parties have been in contact. Beard was fired as the University of Texas men’s basketball coach in January due to an arrest in December for a domestic incident with his fiancee.
“He just cracked me up and got super violent,” read the certificate of Randi Trew – Beard’s fiancΓ©e. “He strangled me, threw me out of bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, threw me everywhere and drove me crazy.”
“Coach Beard is 100% innocent of these charges,” his attorney Perry Minton said. Austin American Statesmanafter the arrest.
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weeks later, she was singing a different tune.
“Chris and I are deeply saddened to have brought negative attention to our family, friends, and the University of Texas, among others. As Chris’s fiancΓ©e and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I “I played in this unfortunate event. I realize that my frustration, breaking his glasses, sparked a physical struggle between Chris and myself”, she shared in the statement.
“Chris didn’t strangle me, and I told law enforcement that night. Chris said he was acting in self-defense, and I don’t refute that. I don’t believe that Chris was intentionally trying to hurt me in any way. I never intended to have him arrested or prosecuted. We appreciate everyone’s support and prayers during this difficult time,” he said. -she explains.
After the charges were dropped, Beard issued a statement:
“I am pleased with the news that the charges against me have been dismissed,” Beard said. βAlthough I have always had faith and confidence in the truth and in this outcome, it has been extremely difficult to wait patiently and not respond publicly. I am sorry and deeply remorseful to my family, my friends, all of my players and staff, new and old, and everyone at my alma mater, the University of Texas.
Beard’s career is far from over
But, as expected, Beard’s career is far from over. There are different sets of rules for men like Beard, especially when it comes to coaching, especially in college basketball.
Beard burst onto the national scene when he took Texas Tech to the national championship game in 2019. In a season many will remember for being highlighted by a Duke team that included Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones, it was Beard’s underdog Red Raiders who were within possession of a national title in the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance as they fell to to Virginia in overtime. Since then, Beard has been one of the hottest names in college basketball. After two more successful seasons in Lubbock, UT hired him to bring their program back to glory. It worked.
But, this column is not about Texas basketball. It’s about how history has shown us that Beard won’t be unemployed for long.
College basketball is such a marvel that it has it all this month – March. No other sport can hold America’s attention for so long. However, college basketball is also a sport in which head coaches have a ton of power. And if you’re good – and white – fans and sporting directors will drink copious amounts of an elixir called “Oh, that thing was completely over the top. Give the guy another chance,” which will give them practical amnesia about the alleged sins of a coach while allowing them to remember how beneficial that same coach is when it comes to winning games.
Here’s a list of college basketball head coaches who still have a job, may have kept theirs after a scandal, or will be hired again at some point.
π Greg Gard (Wisconsin) β One year after firing a staff member for using the N-word (which led to the transfer of one of the few black players in the team), the Gard almost had a team mutiny on his hands. He followed this by start a fight with Juwan Howard and Michigan during a post-game handshake line and came out looking like a victim. He is still employed.
π Greg McDermott (Creighton) β Last year, the Bluejays head coach had to fall asleep to Django Unchained as he did his best re-enactment of a slave owner. βGuys, we have to stick together. We need both feet. I need everyone to stay on the plantation. I can’t let anyone leave the plantation,β McDermott told his team.. The school suspended him for five seconds and quickly put the situation in the rearview mirror. He is still employed.
π Gregg Marshall (Wichita State) β In 2020, we discovered that the Shockers Coach is a maniac – as described by a former assistant – after it was alleged that he strangled one of his assistants, punched a playerslammed another and mocked the third athlete Native American heritage. There has been a long investigation, but Marshall was not fired. Instead, he just resigned and got a $7.75 million contract settlement.
π Mark Few (Gonzaga) β Last year TMZ released a video of the Zags head coach when he was arrested for a DUI. Little was drunk and bored and acted like the police were under him. The footage shows Few refusing to do field sobriety tests because he claimed they were “totally subjective”. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI, was suspended for a few games, and the situation immediately erupted. He is still employed.
π Will Wade (LSU) – The former LSU coach was caught on a FBI wiretap discuss how he paid the players. Everyone heard him and he still went to work every day. LSU suspendedthen finally fired Wade after NCAA violations came down on him and his program, in a move that suggested LSU was going to ignore federal evidence until the NCAA decided to punish the school. He doesn’t have a job, but don’t be surprised when he gets hired again.
π Sean Miller (Xavier) β Earlier this week it was announced that Miller was not going to be sanctioned by the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Committee fallout from what happened when he was in Arizona. Miller and Arizona were part of the FBI’s sports investigation, and it was alleged he was paying DeAndre Ayton out of his own pocket. Miller has always denied paying players. As you can see, Miller trains Xavier as if nothing had happened.
π Rick Pitino (Iona) β Pitino has had allegations and violations against him since he was a assistant coach in Hawaii in the 1970ss. He is still a coach.
And last but not least, Mark Adams β the man who replaced Beard at Texas Tech β is suspended for βracially insensitive” he comments, telling one of his players that there is “always a master and a servant.β
There is so much more to Beard’s story than we will ever know. However, a school wanting to hire him following what would have been took place in Texas was as predictable as a Tyler Perry production.
Chris Beard’s combination of talent and whiteness was always going to save his career. For what? Because, unfortunately, someone at Ole Miss β or anywhere else β will hire him because they care more about his suffocating defenses than the fact that he tried to suffocate. his fiancee.