Maine Coach Charged With Sex Offense

There are things people do to lose a job, then there actions that completely obliterate any chance at continuing a career in their chosen field. For Mike Burden, the now former associate head basketball coach at the Maine Black Bears, he allegedly took an action that should necessitate leaving coaching -- and likely anything involving students -- forever.

Burden resigned after being charged with unlawful sexual contact against one woman and assault against another woman who tried to assist the victim. Both women were students at Maine.

The first alleged victim was also a woman's soccer team member. She notified her coach of the incident. That quickly led to the suspension and resignation of Burden.

The short AP wire story does not do justice to how egregious Burden's behavior allegedly was, and why his career in coaching should be done. On its fact, this doesn't appear to be some sort of "he said/she said" incident stemming from a misunderstanding or flirting gone bad.

According to the police report, Burden had been the passenger in a car that was pulled over by police not too long before the crime. The driver was arrested for drunken driving. Burden was passed out in the car, and was only awoken after the driver had been arrested and police rousted him so they could impound the vehicle.

Burden was then walking home when the encounter occurred.

The 21-year-old female victim reported to police that she left the 103 Ultra Lounge just before the nightclub closed at 2 a.m. and was walking down Park Street when she noticed that she did not have her cell phone. Thinking she had dropped it while taking a shortcut behind an apartment building, she started looking for the phone in that area when a man she identified as Burden approached her.

"He offered to help her and began making advances, which led to the charges of unlawful sexual contact," Ewing said. While the assault was happening, "one of her friends walked by and she yelled to the friend" who came over to assist the crying woman.

"While standing with the two girls, he starts pawing at [the second woman] and she pushes him away," [Orono police Capt. Josh] Ewing said.

The two women, who both recognized Burden, left together and reported the assault at 3:19 a.m. after the two got to one of their apartments.

It is chilling to think how much worse this may have been, if the police report is accurate, if no one else had been able to help.

Burden is 36 years old, and has slowly climbed the coaching ranks from Division II and III just to this point at a Division I school. But that will likely be over if this allegations are proved true. For a guy who has a degree in health and physical education, he's likely limited his career options.