FATHER JAILED IN THREATS MADE TO SON'S COACH.

Byline: Jaxon Van Derbeken and Eric Sondheimer Daily News Staff Writers

A parent was jailed Thursday on suspicion of making ``terrorist threats'' against a Taft High School junior varsity baseball coach whom he accuses of verbally abusing his son.

Authorities said Ron Clebanoff was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail in the school district investigation into the conduct of the 38-year-old Reseda man and Coach Ed Gunny.

School officials claim Clebanoff, the father of a 15-year-old freshman on the struggling team, made at least four threats against Gunny and other personnel during ballgames.

In one instance, officials said, Clebanoff ran onto the field at Birmingham High School, forcing a brief halt to the game.

``There's been complaints of this person threatening the life of the coach and threatening other personnel,'' said Taft Principal Ron Berz. ``And there have been, shall we say, statements in corroboration.''

Joe Luskin, an L.A. Unified School District administrator who oversees Taft, said he has not seen such a situation in 35 years.

``It's very rare,'' Luskin said. ``Parents do not make threats involving bodily harm in reference to employees. They may have differing opinions, they may feel that a . . . coach is not making the right plays or doesn't know what he is doing, but it's something else when they make threats towards his safety.''

Steve Clebanoff, the player's uncle, said his brother is the victim, not coach Gunny.

``He's being treated so unjustly,'' he said. ``The real problem is how this (coach) treats the students.''

Steve Clebanoff said his brother got into an altercation with the coach during a game against Chatsworth last week. But the brother told him it was triggered by Gunny's conduct.

``At the game at Chatsworth, the coach went off on his son very badly. Inexcusable behavior,'' Steve Clebanoff said, adding that his brother told him he then came down from the stands and ``words were exchanged.''

For his part, Gunny, 49, said that he does not verbally abuse his players on a squad that only has a 2-10 record this season. He declined to comment on specifics of the conflict.

``I don't swear, I don't yell at them,'' he said.

Still, Gunny, who has taught physical education at Taft for 22 years, said he has raised his voice to emphasize an instruction to his players.

Under district policy, Gunny said he had no choice but to report incidents involving verbal threats.

``It's something I'm sick over,'' he said. ``I'm extremely fond of the boy.''

Berz said the school is investigating parent complaints against Gunny, and team members are being interviewed.

``We are talking to student athletes and looking into allegations that he is abusive,'' Berz said. ``As of this moment, I have no evidence that Mr. Gunny has been abusive to student athletes. We're continuing the investigation into those charges.''

Berz said parents have also complained about Gunny's handling of the team during a bad season.

``A lot of things have to do with complaints about strategy,'' he said.

Under California law, threatening to kill or seriously injure someone is a felony punishable by one year in prison.