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Featured Image Credit: NFHS Network
Topics: Basketball, NBA
Josh Lawless
A Hall of Fame high school basketball coach has responded after being fired for pulling a player's ponytail in a shocking viral video.
Over the weekend, Northville High School's girls team suffered a 43-37 loss to La Fargeville in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D championship game.
But there was huge controversy after the defeat at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy as footage appeared to show coach Jim Zullo yanking the hair of one of his star players from behind.
According to the Daily Mail, the player in question has been identified as Hailey Monroe and she looked stunned and on the verge of tears after an incident.
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A teammate called Ahmya Tompkins, who is reportedly Zullo's great niece, interjected and appeared to defend Monroe, wagging her finger at the irate coach.
It was reported that Zullo claimed he was on the receiving end of an expletive from Monroe after telling her to shake hands with the opposition and that is what caused the emotional reaction.
Northville soon announced that they had taken action against Zullo, a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, by relieving him of his duties.
"We assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the District is actively addressing it," the Northville Central School District said in a post released on social media.
"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 went on to issue a full apology for his conduct, which he admitted was not acceptable.
"I want to offer my sincerest apologies to Hailey and her family, our team, the good folks at Northville Central Schools and our community," he said in a statement, as per NBC.
"As a coach, under no circumstance is it acceptable to put my hands on a player, and I am truly sorry."
Zullo led Shenendehowa High School to the Class A state title in 1987 and had a 34-year career coaching before retiring in 1999.
He reportedly came out of retirement in 2023 to take charge of Northville girls based on the advice of his late wife and they reached the championship finals in two consecutive years.