A high school basketball coach has been fired after being caught on video pulling on the ponytail of one of his players at the end of a game.
Jim Zullo, head coach of the girls’ varsity basketball team at Northville High School in Northville, N.Y., was fired for yanking on the ponytail of senior Hailey Monroe. In video of the incident obtained by TMZ, the 81-year-old coach appears to angrily pull on Monroe’s ponytail while waiting for a medal presentation following the team’s loss in the NYSPHSAA Class D state championship game.
Zullo appeared to exchange words with another player during the incident as well.
The moment was seen on the NFHS Network’s online stream of the game and quickly came to the attention of the school district, which announced Zullo’s firing in a statement posted on the district website.
“The District is committed to ensuring that this type of behavior has no place within our programs, and we will continue to uphold the values of respect and integrity that our athletes, families and community expect and deserve,” the statement read. “This individual will no longer be coaching for the Northville Central School District.”
Zullo claimed in a statement to NEWS10 ABC that Monroe swore at him after he directed her to shake hands with the opposing team, which prompted his reaction.
WGRB of Albany reported that Monroe is the school’s all-time leading scorer, and was in tears after fouling out of the game. Northville lost to LaFargeville 43-37.
Zullo is a high-profile coach in New York, and is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame. According to a recent profile by Kyle Adams of The Leader-Herald, he has won 573 combined games coaching both boys and girls basketball dating back to 1970, and had led Northville to consecutive appearances in the state championship game.
