The high school basketball coach fired for pulling a player's hair has finally spoken up. 81-year-old Jim Zullo was caught on camera tugging the ponytail of Haily Monroe, a player for the girls' Northville High School team in Fulton County, New York. According to WRGB Albany, this happened after their team lost the championship game on Friday, March 21.
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Fired Basketball Coach Speaks Up After Yanking Player's Hair
It didn't take long for the video to go viral online, as it showed Zullo yanking the girl's hair while scolding her. Another teammate pulled Monroe aside, prompting the coach to start arguing with her. Since then, the school district fired Zullo. Also, the coach's son, Sam, has shared his father's statement to news outlets like WYNT.
"I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game," said Zullo. "I want to offer my sincerest apologies to Hailey and her family, our team, the good folks at Northville Central Schools and our community. As a coach, under no circumstance is it acceptable to put my hands on a player, and I am truly sorry."
Zullo mentioned how grateful he was "for the opportunity to have coached girls basketball at Northville the past two years, especially last season, which was a difficult time for our family." During his final game, Northville High School lost against La Fargeville with a score of 43-37.
"I am super proud of every one of these young women and what they accomplished," he continued. "I know each of them will go on to do great things and I wish them well."
The Lead-Up And The Aftermath
Even before the coach yanked her hair, you could see Monroe tearing up in the clip. It got worse after the incident, but luckily a fellow teammate put herself between Monroe and Zullo. According to the New York Post, Monroe had fouled out in the game before the altercation. Despite that, this senior student is the program's all-time leading scorer.
The outlet also reported that Zullo claimed Monroe gave an expletive toward him, which led to his actions. Soon after the viral clip aired, the school district gave its own statement to the community.
"The Northville Central School District is aware of, and deeply disturbed by, the conduct of the Coach of the Girls' Varsity basketball team during the Class D New York State championship game," it wrote. "We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes, and this behavior is completely unacceptable."
The district then announced that Zullo would "no longer be coaching for the Northville Central School District." This was to "assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the District is actively addressing it."
