Affliction Owner Resigns

Todd Beard, a founder of the popular Affliction clothing brand, has resigned as an employee from Affliction Inc., its board of directors announced on Friday.

Beard’s resignation appears to be a direct result of a 30-day restraining order granted to Kim Couture, wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, last Tuesday by the Clark County Justice Court in Las Vegas.

In a signed affidavit that accompanied Couture’s request, she provided evidence of Beard’s conviction on fraud charges in early 1993, in addition to a protection order obtained by former girlfriend Denise Zullo in 1997 and a misdemeanor complaint filed against Beard on Sept. 30 of this year for threatening the bodily harm of Karlos Shaverdian.

Mrs. Couture, vice president of Xtreme Couture and other related companies, had a direct business relationship with Beard for the last two years pertaining to the Xtreme Couture clothing brand, which is co-owned between the two parties.

She wrote that Beard became threatening after she asked him to provide monthly accountings of the clothing brand, as per their signed agreement. Couture claims Beard has neglected to produce said figures for nearly a year.

In her statement, Couture said Beard had “resorted to a series of threats and acts intended to intimidate me and otherwise coerce me to ‘back off’ in my insistence that he and the company give proper accountings.”

Couture stated Beard’s threatening behavior culminated with a series of phone calls on Oct. 17 to Randy and Kim Couture and their attorney, Sam Spira, in which Beard “screamed … that he would ‘get’ us and otherwise make us regret that we had persisted in our efforts to get proper accountings.”

"I would like to apologize for my comments that may have offended Kim and Randy Couture and Mr. Spira,” Beard commented in a statement released on Friday by Affliction Inc. “I had a long-standing relationship with the Coutures, and I was deeply and emotionally hurt by some of their recent business decisions. I have only the best of intentions for the success of the Affliction and Xtreme Couture clothing brands and understand that there are personal issues I must address."

The release also stated that Affliction Entertainment -- which promoted its first mixed martial arts event last July in Anaheim, Calif. -- is not controlled by Affliction Inc., and that Beard has no affiliation as “an officer, director, or shareholder” with the fight organization.