Lip reader 'reveals' what disgraced high school basketball coach said after pulling player's ponytail

A lip reader has supposedly worked out what disgraced basketball coach Jim Zullo said after pulling a player’s hair, which led to his sacking.

The incident occurred on Friday (21 March) when Northville High School’s girls side suffered a 43-47 loss to La Fargeville in the New York Athletic Association Class D.

And one player appeared shocked after Zullo, 81, yanked her hair from behind. A clip of the incident has since gone viral on social media, to the dismay of users.

The Mail reported that the player was identified as Hailey Monroe, who appeared upset by the actions of her coach.

The 81-year-old also yelled at Monroe before a teammate intervened appearing to address the coach, who began pointing towards her in an aggressive manner.

Northville Central School District later released a statement on social media.

“We assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the District is actively addressing it," read the statement.

"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."

Zullo also issued an apologetic statement, during which he explained how his conduct was unacceptable.

Northville High School fired girl's basketball coach Jim Zullo for yanking a player's ponytail after a loss.

How would you respond if this happened to your daughter?https://t.co/CYs4IZKiL8

— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) March 22, 2025

"I want to offer my sincerest apologies to Hailey and her family, our team, the good folks at Northville Central Schools and our community,” read Zullo’s statement.

"As a coach, under no circumstance is it acceptable to put my hands on a player, and I am truly sorry."

It has since been reported that Zullo was sacked with the district releasing a statement.

“We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes,” the district said in a statement, as per Mail.

“This behaviour is completely unacceptable. This individual will no longer be coaching for Northville Central School District.”

Now, a new report has emerged about what Monroe's teammate, Ahmya Tompkins, who intervened, purportedly said.

Lip reader, Nicola Hickling, told the Mail that Tompkins supposedly said: “Leave her. That's not okay,” before Zullo continued prompting Tompkins to again say “No, leave her”.

The report then explained how Zullo snapped back saying “You shut it”.