White privilege will always be part of Chris Beard’s story, but that’s because of his race. However, his ability to remain hireable is due to his talent… and his breed.
In the midst of a sign-stealing scandal rocking college football, the start of the NBA season, the LSU women’s team being swept away by Colorado, and the weekly happenings in the NFL, even the most ardent sports fan may have overlooked the fact that the return of college basketball means Chris Beard is coaching again — so much for women of faith.
On fridaynight, Ole Miss will take on Eastern Washington in their second game of the seasonas they look for a 2-0 win after defeating Alabama State 69-59 in their season opener.
‘First of all it’s about the players’ Beard said after the game, trying to take the spotlight off himself. “That’s how I always feel on opening night… They work so hard. Summer, preseason, training, and then you get to game night and you just don’t want it to backfire.
“There’s no place I think anyone would rather be than Oxford, Mississippi,” he said.
That wouldn’t have been the case if Beard hadn’t driven away from Austin, Texas.
“(Beard) engaged in ‘unacceptable conduct that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university’ Jim Davis, Texas vice president for legal affairs, said of the school’s decision to fire him with cause in January. Beard was involved with his fiancée in a he-said/she-said domestic violence arrest that later turned into a “she said he didn’t do it” situation.
“He choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, got bruises all over my leg, threw me around and went crazy,” his fiancée told officers after the incident.
Because of how good he is at coaching basketball, and the benefits that come with living as a white man in America, anyone with sense knew that sooner or later Beard would be rehired. A few months later, Ole Miss came calling. At his introductory press conference, Beard was asked if he put his arm on his fiancée’s throat. The coward refused to answer.
“Randi and I agreed to talk not only about the details of that night, but also about the nights we went through this process,” he said. “But what I can tell you is that much of what was reported was incorrect, and that has been proven by not only the case being dismissed and charges dropped, but also by Randi’s statement on December 23.”
The charges against Beard were dropped largely because his fiancée wanted them to. “Although I have always had confidence in the truth and this outcome, it has been extremely challenging to wait patiently and not respond publicly. I am sorry and deeply remorseful to my family, friends, all of my players and staff, both recent and past, and everyone at my alma mater, the University of Texas. he wrote in a statement allowing Ole Miss to come in and pick him up like nothing ever happened.
“What we have learned is that the initial reports were not accurate and did not accurately reflect the events that took place,” said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter at Beard’s introductory news conference. “We had multi-level conversations with a number of people in the area that evening, and Coach Beard was extremely transparent in our conversations with him.”
According to local outlets, two of Beard’s daughters were on stage with him that day. Not his fiancée. This is the guy Ole Miss fans will be cheering for.
In college athletics, the coaches have all the power. The identity of a program is directly linked to who blows the whistle. And in Mississippi, Chris Beard was deemed fit to determine how that program will be implemented. That’s not just a bad look for Ole Miss, it’s one for college basketball as well.