NESHANNOCK, Pa. -- Jim Smiley, this town's high school basketball coach for 28 years, stands just 5 feet 6. But his enemies -- a dozen or so parents -- call him the campus bully, a man who mistreats the boys under his control.

One of his chief critics, parent Mary Mitsos, said Mr. Smiley went so far as to spit on a sophomore player last season.

Mary K. Bruening, mother of that player, says the spitting charge is false. Also untrue, she says, is a claim that Mr. Smiley forced her son to run wind sprints after he saw the boy with a severe nose bleed during a 7 a.m. practice.

She said her son's T-shirt was soaked with blood, so it was curious that the coaches did not immediately notice the injury.

"I wouldn't say this was abuse. I would say it was neglect," Mrs. Bruening said.

Still, she calls the varying stories of abuse "Nosegate," and says they have diverted attention from more provable charges about the coach.

She said Mr. Smiley's profane tirades and uncaring ways are what bother her: "He is a degrader. He humiliates people."

Mr. Smiley, 56, said he occasionally cursed at players. But, he said, he never belittled a player or engaged in personal attacks.

"This is sick. It's dirty," he said. "It's all about a handful of parents who are upset about the amount of playing time their sons received."

But school administrators found merit to some complaints against Mr. Smiley. They placed him on probation after the first of two investigations about his conduct.

Mr. Smiley, also president of the Neshannock teachers' union, said the administration told him he was on probation. What this meant was unclear. He said he received nothing in writing and continued coaching.

Aside from the cursing, he said, he received no explanation of what he supposedly did wrong. The coach said his reading of the situation was a suggestion that he improve his relationships with parents. Mr. Smiley said he has never cultivated friendships with parents, for fear that this would lead to charges of favoritism.

Parents opposing him retained a lawyer, who asked for the results of the investigations. The school solicitor would not release the documents, saying they involved a personnel matter.

In an interview last week, school Superintendent Mary Todora declined to say whether the coach was on probation or whether he had been sanctioned in any other way. She cited prohibitions against talking about employees.

But for the second investigation, Dr. Todora said she interviewed every member of the team about the claim that Mr. Smiley abused the boy with the bleeding nose. She found the charge to be untrue.

"If anyone in this district had been physically abused it would not have been tolerated. No district would tolerate it," she said.

Many parents who dislike Mr. Smiley are just as unhappy with Dr. Todora. They say she is protecting the coach.

Dr. Todora publicly said in March that there was no basis for any complaints about the coach. By then, she had placed him on probation.

The parents are gearing up for another fight, as the school board is to decide this month or in June whether Mr. Smiley's coaching contract will be renewed.

School board member Tracy Stevenson said the investigations had turned up evidence that reflected poorly on Mr. Smiley. She wants to remove him as coach.

"I think it would be better for the basketball program if he were replaced," Mrs. Stevenson said. "He's had a very successful reign, but we need a fresh start."

The other eight school board members either declined to be interviewed or to speak on the record.

Several complaining parents said in interviews for this story that Mr. Smiley had no support, even from former players. They said not even town legend Kevin Covert, a star at Neshannock in the 1990s and later a collegiate player at Robert Morris, had a good word for Mr. Smiley.

They were wrong. Mr. Covert, now 32, says he considers Mr. Smiley an excellent coach and a wonderful mentor for teenagers.

"He's always been there for me," Mr. Covert said. "He is a very well-read man who knows a lot more than basketball."

Mr. Covert said the coach sometimes slipped and uttered a curse word. In that sense, Mr. Smiley was typical of most coaches, he said.

"Kids aren't tough today," Mr. Covert said. "They want to complain. Coach Smiley is going to play who's going to help him. Some people just can't accept that."

John Rorick, coach of rival Riverside High, said Mr. Smiley runs a good program in every respect.

"His teams have always represented their school and district well," he said.

Of profane language, Mr. Rorick said "there probably isn't a place for that." But in the 13 years he has coached against Mr. Smiley, he said, he always found him to practice good sportsmanship.

Mr. Smiley has a career record of 380-262. He won a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League championship in 1987, but he might have had his best team in 2003. That group lost to eventual state finalist Sto-Rox in the Western region semifinals.

Jim Henderson, one of Mr. Smiley's critics, used to be one of his fans. Mr. Henderson said he led a fund-raising effort by boosters that paid for a trip to Hawaii for Mr. Smiley and his wife after the '87 championship season.

"Smiley was a good coach in his younger years. With today's kids, I don't know if he can handle them," Mr. Henderson said.

His son, Matthew, quit the team in December, upset over what he considered "harassment" by the coach.

"It was never about playing time with Matthew," Jim Henderson said. "He's 6 feet 5 and 290 pounds, so he was lucky to be the 10th guy off the bench. It's about dignity. It's about respect. Smiley's just totally out of hand."

Neshannock has a no-cut policy in sports. This left Mr. Smiley with 20 boys on his roster at the start of last season.

Three seniors, including Matthew Henderson and Mrs. Mitsos' son, quit the team in December. None had played much.

Mr. Smiley says player Emmanuel Mitsos let it be known that he felt entitled to playing time.

"He told me before the first practice, 'I'm the best athlete in this school. I expect to start,' " Mr. Smiley said.

Angelo Mitsos, father of the boy who quit, gets angry when the coach's conduct is discussed in relation to playing time.

Mr. Mitsos said Mr. Smiley had a bias against boys such as his son, who spent off-season workout time on football. Mr. Mitsos would not allow his son to be interviewed for this story, but said his family never considered playing time an issue.

"I never said a word until after the Mohawk game, when Smiley blew up and [verbally] attacked my son."

Mr. Mitsos said this tirade included the use of filthy names directed at Emmanuel and other substitutes.

Mr. Smiley said he had planned to retire as coach at the end of last season. But, he said, he decided not to quit because of the campaign against him. He will not tip his hand about whether he wants to remain as coach.

"My intentions are to have no intentions," he said.

The coach, also a driver-education teacher, said he could have drummed up plenty of support from students, townspeople and former players. He said he asked them not to involve themselves because he does not need a defense to unfair attacks.

"I've been a head coach since I was 26. I was getting ready to retire until all the slander," Mr. Smiley said. "Now I'm thinking about it, but it will be my choice."

Perhaps it will be the school board's choice if Mrs. Stevenson can get four fellow members to support her plan to fire the coach.

For all their complaints about district inaction, the parents got their wish when assistant basketball coach Ricci LaRocca was ousted after the season. Parents said he had offered chewing tobacco to a player.

Dr. Todora will not comment on whether the allegation was true. "He's no longer here" is all she will say.

Mr. Smiley said he heard the story about tobacco use and questioned Mr. LaRocca about it. His assistant told him the charge was false.

The episode was one more headache in a difficult season. Still, the Neshannock team rallied from a 3-7 start to make the playoffs. The team finished 11-11.

Whether it was Mr. Smiley's last season remains a matter of debate.