Baseball Coach Is Dismissed at Ocean View

Bill Gibbons, baseball coach at Ocean View High School, will not be rehired next season, principal John Myers said Friday.

Gibbons, who has been the head coach at Ocean View for 10 of the last 12 years, will be replaced by Steve Barrett, who has coached the freshman-sophomore team for the last two years. Gibbons, who took two years off from coaching to pursue a law degree, will remain at the school as a history teacher.

The move has brought strong reactions from some Ocean View parents who defended Gibbons in a meeting with Myers Friday morning. They were not told why Gibbons was being dismissed, according to Gary Christopherson, president of the school’s booster club.

“This is a personnel matter, and I cannot discuss the reasons,” Myers said. “If Bill chooses to discuss it, that is his business.”

Gibbons, who guided Ocean View at least as far as the Southern Section quarterfinals the past five seasons, said his termination stems from two incidents while the team was at a tournament in San Luis Obispo during spring break.

Before the tournament, three players, who had received permission from their parents to make the trip by car, violated team rules. The three players were sent home by Gibbons and suspended from the team for 45 days.

“I followed the guidelines, called the parents and sent the kids home the next day,” said Gibbons. “I didn’t try to cover anything up.”

The second incident involved damage to a motel room by some other players. Gibbons said the players later paid for the damage.

Gibbons said he was reprimanded by school officials after the trip.

“They (school officials) told me I acted irresponsibly in allowing them to drive,” Gibbons said. “The parents had requested that the kids travel by car. I agreed on the condition, in writing, they release the school and myself from responsibility until they arrived. Then they were to give the car keys to me.

“I suspended the players right then and turned it over to the principal when we got back, according to procedure.”

Said Joe Reed, father of one of the three suspended players: “The situation happened, which my kid was involved in, and Bill had nothing to do with it and couldn’t have prevented it under any conditions. As to the damage to the hotel, any time you have 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids together like that, those kind of incidents happen.”

Christopherson said several parents are expected to attend Tuesday’s Huntington Beach Unified School District board meeting to discuss the decision.

“You won’t find a more dedicated man than Bill Gibbons,” Christopherson said. “It’s a boneheaded thing to fire him. It’s not a fair shake for anyone, especially the kids.”