Alleged victim of Chris Beard assault releases statement clarifying arrest, calls for charges to be dropped

The situation involving Texas head coach Chris Beard took another turn Friday. His fiancee, Randi Trew, released a statement regarding the situation and said Beard didn’t strangle her.

Beard was arrested in the early morning hours Dec. 12 and charged with assault on a family/household member — a third degree felony. He allegedly strangled a woman, later revealed to be Trew, and was suspended indefinitely shortly thereafter.

Beard also stated he acted in self-defense, and Trew’s statement didn’t refute that.

“Chris and I are deeply saddened that we have brought negative attention upon our family, friends, and the University of Texas, among others,” Trew wrote. “As Chris’ fiancé and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I played in this unfortunate event. I realize that my frustration, when breaking his glasses, initiated a physical struggle between Chris and myself. Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening. Chris has stated that he was acting in self-defense, and I do not refute that.

“I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way. It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted. We appreciate everyone’s support and prayers during this difficult time.”

More on Chris Beard’s arrest, suspension

Beard was arrested at 4:18 a.m. Dec. 12 for assault on a family/household member. The report also stated that he was impeded breath circulation to the individual. Austin Police were responding to a, “disturbance hot shot,” at 12:15 a.m., CBS Sports later learned. Texas then released a statement in response to the news.

“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard,” the statement read. “We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”

Associate head coach Rodney Terry was then tabbed as Texas’ interim coach that day, just before the Longhorns were supposed to take on Rice. Later that week, he addressed how the team handled the events of the day.

“Again, I can’t speak on that situation,” Terry said of Beard’s arrest. “You know I love Beard like, like my own brother. Again, we were focused on the task at hand and that was preparing for a really competitive Rice team tonight. I thought the guys really won this game yesterday. They came in and had great preparation for this ball game. They came in and worked really hard yesterday and obviously had some adversity this morning, but quickly regrouped. They battled through a highly contested game tonight.”

On3’s Riley Gates and Nick Kosko contributed to this report.