Golden: Expect Texas' Beard decision to come later, not sooner

The new year will bring with it renewed hopes and dreams of something greater than what we've witnessed over the past 12 months, but for the University of Texas, a decision must be made.

Expect it later rather than sooner.

Suspended men's basketball coach Chris Beard’s tenure hangs in the balance, but his cloudy sky could be clearing. His accuser in his felony domestic violence case has since softened her initial statements to police on Dec. 12, telling the American-Statesman and police over the weekend that the coach might have been acting in self-defense.

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

Her statement appears to weaken the case against Beard, but it can also be viewed as a brilliant job of lawyering by Perry Minton. Anyone who studies law could see this scenario coming: Accuser calls the police to report a physical altercation. Police arrive and arrest the person accused of an attack. Accuser later changes the story.

If you're viewing this through an objective lens, you knew a changing of the details was a possibility, given the enormous amount of money that could be lost — about $30 million in this case — had Beard been charged, convicted and/or terminated.

For whatever reason, the narrative has changed. Only Beard and his accuser know what happened in that house because they were the principals involved. The prosecution can still move forward with the case if it sees fit, depending on photos that might illustrate what happened.

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So Beard could return to the court. The state could drop the charges, clearing the way for the university to lift his suspension and get him back to coaching. That is, if the school is still interested in having him back.

Outside of acknowledging that the school had read and was reviewing the accuser's latest statement, UT athletic director Chris Del Conte hasn’t spoken publicly about the case, which is understandable given that this will be one of the biggest decisions of his tenure here, right up there with the firing of Tom Herman in 2020 and the hiring of Steve Sarkisian in 2021.

The basketball team, under Rodney Terry's watch, is 3-0 since Beard's suspension and will host Texas A&M-Commerce on Tuesday before opening Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Saturday. At 10-1, the Horns are having one of their best seasons in recent memory, but basketball is far down the priority list at this point. There are lives involved here.

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As for Del Conte, expect him to play the long game. He’s a slow-burn type who's in no hurry to make this decision. He will continue to gather intel from the parties involved. I don’t see this decision being made before Thursday’s Alamo Bowl against Washington, but I also don’t see the Horns going through an entire season with the capable Terry at the helm.

With that said, it doesn’t take away the fact that the cops were called because Beard's accuser presumably feared for her safety. It doesn’t change the fact that she reported bite marks and bruises on her body, allegedly caused by Beard.

Either way, the optics remain horrible.

If he walks, Beard will still retain some of the stigma that goes with being accused of domestic abuse. The hope is he didn’t attack a woman, because that would make him a coward. The bigger hope is that his accuser is being truthful and that she was with a man who honored and protected her and did not put his hands on her.

Farewell to Franco: When Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris died Dec. 29 — days before a long-planned celebration of his greatest individual feat — a piece of my childhood went with him.

I grew up in East Texas as an undercover Steelers fan. That was Dallas Cowboys country. My dad lived and died with the Cowboys in the 1970s, and the thought of that little punk down the hall secretly rooting for the hated Steelers was quickly labeled blasphemy.

While Dad reveled in the playmaking of Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson, Randy White and Tony Dorsett, I quietly aligned with Lynn Swann (my favorite player), Terry Bradshaw, Mean Joe Greene and Harris, whose walk-off touchdown catch in a 1972 playoff win over the Oakland Raiders — it came to be known as the Immaculate Reception — was the unofficial introduction of the Steelers as a football power.

They went on to win four of six Super Bowls — two over Dad’s beloved Cowboys — with Harris, the least flashy of the superstar Steelers, quietly carrying his hard hat in an era when running backs weren’t shocked to get the ball 25 to 30 times in one afternoon.

Harris famously carried the ball 34 times for 158 yards in the Steelers’ first Super Bowl win over Minnesota two seasons after his famous catch. He also carried the legacy of jersey No. 32, worn by fellow league champions Jim Brown and Marcus Allen.

Harris was much bigger than a football player. He was involved in numerous charitable pursuits, and in 2017 he visited Austin with Greene and other NFL legends to participate in Pro Player Foundation events aimed at combatting multiple sclerosis.

They were old on-field adversaries of Houston Oiler great Earl Campbell but longtime friends who partnered with Campbell and his son Tyler to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s scholarship program. Tyler, a successful author, media personality and motivational speaker, has battled the disease for more than 15 years.

In a sport that often rewards the larger-than-life personalities, Harris was a quiet superstar who played the game of football and the game of life the right way.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas' Chris Beard decision will be later, not sooner