A New York high school basketball coach is apologizing after he was fired for pulling the hair of a female athlete in the wake of a state championship loss.
Northville High School girls’ basketball coach Jim Zullo was caught on video yanking on one of his player’s ponytails after the team lost the Class D State Championship to La Fargeville at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y., on Friday.
Hailey Monroe, a star player who scored 12 points in the game, was standing with her team when her former coach approached her from behind and aggressively grabbed her hair.
During the altercation, Zullo can be seen shouting and pointing his finger at Monroe before a teammate, Ahmya Tompkins, who is reportedly the great neice of Zullo, intervenes.
In a statement on Saturday, the school district said it was “deeply disturbed” by the conduct of the coach.
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“We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes, and this behavior is completely unacceptable,” it continued, adding that Zullo has been removed from his coaching position.
“The District will be following up with the affected players and their families to provide support and outline the actions we are taking in response to this incident,” the statement concluded.
In a statement given to NBC affiliate WNYT, Zullo apologized for his actions.
“I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game. I want to offer my sincerest apologies to Hailey and her family, our team, the good folks at Northville Central Schools, and our community,” Zullo wrote.
“As a coach, under no circumstance is it acceptable to put my hands on a player, and I am truly sorry. I wish I could have those moments back. I am grateful for the opportunity to have coached girls’ basketball at Northville for the past two years, especially last season, which was a difficult time for our family. I am super proud of every one of these young women and what they accomplished. I know each of them will go on to do great things and I wish them well,” he concluded.
Northville lost Friday night’s Class D title, 43-37.
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