[August 22, 2009] Billerica High lacrosse coach's boxing match with player probed Tweet BILLERICA, Aug 22, 2009 (The Sun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- School officials are saying little about allegations that a Billerica Memorial High School lacrosse coach and science teacher boxed one of his players in the school's locker room in May. The Sun has learned that school officials are in possession of a video of head varsity lacrosse coach Chris Burns, 33, in a boxing match with a 15-year-old student on the lacrosse team. Superintendent of Schools Anthony Serio was in closed-door meetings yesterday relating to the incident involving Burns, but he declined to comment on the status of the investigation. The mother of the player who is seen boxing Burns in the video, said she was contacted by Serio in late July after school administrators came into possession of a copy of the video. She described the video as a 27-second clip in which her son and Burns box each other while wearing lacrosse gloves and helmets. She said other members of the team are seen watching the bout. The mother said that at one point in the video her son falls on his back and Burns stands over him. The player then gets up and throws a punch at Burns just as the video cuts out, she said. It is not clear who shot the video or who submitted it to school administrators, but the mother said she was not aware of its existence until her family was contacted by Serio. The mother said she was aware, however, that her son had boxed Burns before she saw the video. But she said she assumed the incident was "horseplay" and was surprised to see how intense the fight was. "I think there is a code of conduct that has to be followed by teachers and coaches," she said. "His (Burns) decision was not a good one. He knew that ahead of time." The Sun is not identifying the mother because the student is a minor. Burns did not return a phone message seeking comment. Athletic Director David Lezenski also did not return a message left at his office. Several School Committee members also declined comment. After school officials began investigating the incident between Burns and the student, a petition seeking to save Burns' job appeared online. It describes the boxing match in detail. It is not known who created the petition, but it has been electronically signed with more than 400 names. "A good friend of ours, Chris Burns, is going through a very difficult situation right now," the petition reads. "Year after year, Chris fields an extremely competitive team, but most importantly he has also done everything possible in his power to help the kids that play for him grow into young men." Burns graduated from Billerica High in 1994, where he played football, basketball and lacrosse. He became the school's varsity lacrosse coach in 2003, guiding the program to one of the most successful records in the state. Burns was named MVC Coach of the Year in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008. He was also named Eastern Mass. Div. 1 Coach of the Year, an award voted on by the state's other lacrosse coaches, in 2008. Burns teaches biology, anatomy and physiology at Billerica High. To see more of The Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lowellsun.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]