Golden: Why did Chris Beard have to go? Because Texas had no other choice

Texas' Chris Beard era didn’t come to an end with the university’s announcement Thursday that he had been terminated in his second season.

It came the minute police arrived at his home Dec. 12 after his fiancée placed a 911 call saying that she had been attacked.

Beard was never coming back to UT after being arrested on a felony domestic violence charge.

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Athletic director Chris Del Conte and UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife made the only decision that made sense when they severed ties with the coach who just two Aprils ago was hailed as the savior of Texas basketball.

Beard was given the opportunity to resign but refused, so the university proceeded with termination. It was happening either way.

In a certified letter and an email sent to Beard, Del Conte wrote, “As noted in your employment contract, all obligations of the University to make further payment or provide any other consideration will cease as of January 5, 2023.”

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In simple English, Texas is taking a hard line with the fired coach. The university isn’t interested in any financial settlement to ease the parting of ways. In essence, UT is saying, “You’re gone, and we won’t pay you another cent.”

In a statement on the university’s website, Del Conte thanked UT associate head coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary work in Beard’s absence, but nowhere in the statement did he thank Beard for his contributions to the program.

The relationship is over, and there will be no niceties.

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So what we have is an elite head coach who made a $30 million error in judgment. Beard will probably find his way back to a college coaching bench one day, but it’s unlikely he will ever command the kind of salary he was making at his dream job.

While the legal process is still playing out, the optics were always going to be the optics, and they were horrible. Whether Beard gets charged or not is of little consequence because he was involved in behavior that just isn’t what we need to see from someone commissioned to lead young men.

This was bigger than winning basketball games, bigger than his record of taking teams deep into the NCAA Tournamen and bigger than this current team’s potential to get the program to a Final Four for the first time in 20 years.

It was about the right thing to do, and Beard had to go. While fans will lament what could have been under his watch — the capable Terry will take over for the rest of the season, but he isn't Chris Beard — the real emphasis should be on the woman who was in enough distress to place a 911 call. In that moment, she told officers she did not feel safe and reported bite marks and bruises.

An altercation happened, and Beard's explanation to his bosses apparently didn't hold water. It was enough for Texas to part ways.

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In a letter to Beard’s lawyer, Perry Minton — who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing on Beard’s part — Texas vice president for legal affairs James E. Davis made it clear that the university’s decision was not contingent on what was or wasn’t going to happen to Beard legally, but on the coach not understanding the gravity of the act in which he engaged.

“We understand that some but not all of the reports of Mr. Beard's behavior were retracted,” the letter read. “It is his actual behavior that we consider, not whether some acts also constitute a crime. Whether or not the District Attorney ultimately charges Mr. Beard is not determinative of whether he engaged in conduct unbecoming of a coach at our university.”

Yes, Beard's fiancée, Randi Trew, later said in a statement that Beard did not attempt to strangle her and acted in self-defense, but the original call — made in the heat of an altercation that had apparently escalated to a violent level — was made for a reason.

The police report was damning on the surface, and Beard was cooked the second those details came to light. The photos of her injuries and the 911 call haven’t been released to the public, but the university saw enough in its own investigation to make the right call.

Beard is no victim here. He was his own worst enemy, and it cost him untold millions in future earnings and even more in the public’s perception of him. De-escalation should have happened. Cooler heads should have prevailed. It’s a moment that will replay in his mind for the rest of his days.

Domestic violence is a real problem in our country. It was once swept under a rug, but the advent of social media and the growing #MeToo movement have made some real inroads in giving a voice to women and men who are the victims of domestic violence.

UFC President Dana White, who has spoken out against domestic violence over the years, was videotaped on New Year's Eve exchanging slaps in a nightclub with his wife in Mexico. Boxer Gervonta Davis was arrested Dec. 27 on a battery charge involving a woman in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Hundreds of incidents like these are occurring every day, but unlike in previous decades, the spotlight has gotten bigger, especially when it involves public figures.

As I’ve written before, the only three people who really know what went down in that house are Beard, Trew and God. Looking ahead, Beard should turn his attention away from basketball and toward his legal defense and later rehabilitating what’s left of his reputation.

Texas has certainly moved on.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Let's be clear: Coach Chris Beard's era at Texas ended with his arrest