Sacked high school basketball coach breaks silence over hair yanking scandal

The high school basketball coach who was sacked for yanking one of his players’ ponytails has spoken out over the “disturbing” scandal.

The longtime upstate New York high school girls’ basketball coach, Jim Zullo, has spoken out following his firing for yanking his player’s hair.

Zullo’s son, Sam, shared his father’s statement to news outlets, including WNYT.

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“I deeply regret my behaviour following the loss to LaFargeville 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.

“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.”

Northville High School fell 43-37 against La Fargeville on Friday in the title game.

“I am grateful 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,” Zullo continued.

“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.”

Coach Zullo continues berating Monroe after he yanked her hair. Photo: News10/NFHS Network.

In the viral clip that led to his termination, Zullo, 81, walked up behind Hailey Monroe and tugged on her ponytail before then yelling in her face.

Monroe’s teammate stood up for her and fired back at Zullo during the altercation.

Monroe looked to be crying both before and after the incident, which came as they were watching their opponents celebrate its New York State Championship. Monroe is a senior and the program’s all-time leading scorer but had fouled out in the game.

Zullo claimed Monroe directed an expletive toward him which led to the viral incident.

The clip quickly went viral with viewers shocked by what unfolded.

“My jaw was on the floor. They’re high school girls for crying out loud,” Alyssa Leroux, who shared a video of the broadcast, said.

American social commentator Colin Rugg on X “congratulated” the teammate for standing up to the “thug” coach.

The Northville Central School District promptly fired Zullo and said in a statement: “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.

The incident at Hudson Valley Community College was broadcast on television. Photo: News10/NFHS Network

“We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes, and this behaviour is completely unacceptable.

“The district is committed to ensuring that this type of behaviour 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. This individual will no longer be coaching for the Northville Central School District.

“We assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the district is actively addressing it. 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.”

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.

Originally published as Sacked high school basketball coach breaks silence over hair yanking scandal