Sports briefs

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has fired basketball coach Chris Beard, who faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fiancée, with the school telling his attorney on Thursday that Beard is “unfit" for the position.

Beard had five years left on a seven-year guaranteed contract that included a provision he could be fired for cause if he was charged with a felony or committed other behavior unbecoming of his position or that reflected poorly on the university.

The charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation family violence carries a possible prison sentence of two to 10 years if convicted; the woman told police Beard strangled and bit her, but later denied he choked her.

Beard had been suspended without pay since he was arrested, and school officials had said there was internal investigation.

The university's vice president of legal affairs, Jim Davis, wrote in a letter to Beard's attorney Thursday that Beard engaged in “unacceptable behavior that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university.” Whether prosecutors continue with the case does not determine whether Beard engaged in conduct unbecoming of the school, Davis wrote.

Police responded to an emergency call at Beard’s house after midnight on Dec. 12 and arrested him after Beard's fiancée, Randi Trew, told officers he choked her from behind, bit her and hit her when the two got in an argument.

The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of extreme violence, but Trew issued a public statement on Dec. 23 in which she denied telling police Beard choked her. She also said she never intended for him to be arrested or prosecuted.

“Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening," Trew said in her statement. “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.”

Trew’s statement did not address why she made the emergency call or other details in the police report, such as bite marks and abrasions on her face and telling officers that she couldn’t breathe for about five seconds.

Beard’s attorney, Perry Minton, has said the coach is innocent, and pointed to Trew's statement in a letter sent early Thursday to the university in which Minton pressed the school to keep Beard.

“Coach Beard has not done anything to violate any provision of his contract with the University of Texas,” Minton wrote, adding he expects the charges to be dropped.

Minton's letter also said Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte “has repeatedly reported to our team that he is certain that Chris Beard did nothing wrong — and is innocent." It also said said that Texas officials told Beard to resign or be fired.

“Your letter this morning reveals that Mr. Beard does not understand the significance of the behavior he knows he engaged in, or the ensuing events that impair his ability to effectively lead our program,” Davis wrote in the school's termination letter.

“This lack of self-awareness is yet another failure of judgement that makes Mr. Beard unfit to serve as a head coach at our university,” Davis wrote.

According to the arrest affidavit, Trew initially told police that she and Beard they had been in an argument where she broke his glasses before he “just snapped on me and became super violent.” Police reported Trew said Beard slapped her glasses off her face and “choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts.”

The Travis County district attorney's office has not responded to previous requests for comment on Beard's case or whether Trew's Dec. 23 statement would change how prosecutors proceed with the felony charge. A Jan. 18 court hearing is scheduled, according to online records.

Beard led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA Tournament championship game and was hired at Texas in 2021 with the expectation that he would lift his alma mater to the same elite level. He had the Longhorns program humming this season, starting 6-0 and ranked as high as No. 2.

Associate head coach Rodney Terry took Beard's place during the suspension, and Del Conte said Thursday that Terry would remain acting head coach through the rest of this season.

“We thank Coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary leadership both on and off the court at a time when our team needed it most," Del Conte said. “We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who throughout this difficult time have continued to make us proud to be Longhorns.”

The Longhorns (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) won their first five games under Terry before losing 116-103 to Kansas State on Tuesday.

A Texas graduate, Beard spent 10 seasons at Texas Tech as an assistant under Bob Knight from 2001-2011, then returned there as head coach in 2016.

He was 112-55 in five seasons with the Red Raiders and was named The The Associated Press coach of the year in 2019 as he guided Texas Tech to a 31-7 finish and lost in an overtime thriller to Virginia in the national championship game.

His departure for Texas — a deal reached after a meeting with Del Conte that included a McDonald’s breakfast an hour’s drive north of Lubbock — left Texas Tech officials frustrated.

As soon as he landed in Austin, Beard set out to rebuild a program from the ground up, changing the roster and trying to whip up new enthusiasm for the program as he engaged with students and often held comedic “fireside chats” on campus. In his first season, he led Texas to a first-round victory over Virginia Tech that was the Longhorns’ first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.

STORRS, Conn. — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma will sit out the Huskies’ game at Xavier on Thursday, the fourth game he has missed this season due to illness.

The Hall of Fame coach also sat out Tuesday's win at Butler. The school didn't release a timetable for his return.

Associate head coach Chris Dailey, who has been at UConn with Auriemma since 1985, will take over the head coaching duties. She is 16-0 when filling in for him.

“It’s been an extremely difficult month for me, and I’ve been feeling under the weather and run down,” Auriemma said in a statement. “I thought I was ready to return, but I need a little more time. I’m going to take a step back to focus on my health and will return when I feel ready.”

His 91-year-old mother Marsiella Auriemma died on Dec. 8.

No. 5 UConn (12-2) has been beset with injuries and illness this season. Former national player of the year Paige Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady are out for the season with knee injuries. Leading scorer Azzi Fudd is expected to return shortly from a knee injury that has kept her on the bench since early December. Shooting guard Caroline Duchareme is sitting out her second consecutive game in concussion protocol.

Only three Huskies have played in every game this season.

NBA

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets might be headed toward yet another NBA All-Star Game rematch.

James is the overall leader so far in All-Star balloting, and Durant leads all Eastern Conference players in early voting returns — putting them on track to be All-Star captains for the third consecutive year.

James had 3,168,694 votes entering Thursday, topping the list of Western Conference frontcourt players. Denver’s Nikola Jokic is second (2,237,768) and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis is third (2,063,325).

Durant leads Eastern Conference frontcourt players with 3,118,545 votes. That’s just ahead of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,998,327) and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (2,226,712).

Golden State’s Stephen Curry leads all guards in the balloting with 2,715,520 votes. Dallas’ Luka Doncic has the No. 2 spot among West guards with 2,388,502 votes.

Among East guards, Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving leads with 2,071,715 votes, and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell is second with 1,637,374.

The top three frontcourt players and top two guards in each conference will be chosen as starters, with the leading overall vote-getters from each conference serving as captains and choosing their teams.

Fan voting counts for 50% of the starters balloting, a media ballot counts for 25% and the ballots turned in by NBA players count for the other 25%.

James has been a captain in all five previous uses of that process, going 5-0 in All-Star Games. His team beat a Durant-picked team in 2020 and 2021, beat teams picked by Antetokounmpo in 2018 and 2019, and beat a team picked by Curry in 2017.

Voting continues through Jan. 21. The captains and the starters will be announced Jan. 26. Reserves — chosen by NBA coaches — will be revealed Feb. 2, and the game is Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City.

GOLF

MLB

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles designated first baseman Ryan O'Hearn for assignment Thursday, two days after acquiring him in a trade with Kansas City. They also claimed infielder Lewin Díaz off waivers from Atlanta after trading him to the Braves last month.

The Orioles acquired O'Hearn from the Royals for cash on Tuesday. Now they have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. If he clears waivers, they could send him to the minors.

Díaz played for the Miami Marlins the past three seasons, but this offseason has been eventful for him.

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed him off waivers from Miami, then the Orioles claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh before trading him to Atlanta for cash. The Braves designated him for assignment, and now Baltimore has claimed him back.