High School Basketball Coach Who Pulled Players' Hair Breaks Silence

Jim Zullo, the former Northville High School girls' basketball coach who became the center of attention for the wrong reasons after yanking a player's hair, has spoken out for the first time since the incident.

The Northville Central School District fired the 81-year-old Zullo after a viral video showed him pulling Hailey Monroe's hair from behind.

The incident occurred after Northville lost to La Fargeville at the Class D girls' final at Hudson Community College.

On Sunday, Zullo released a statement apologizing for his actions on Friday.

He said, per WNYT, "I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game."

Zullo apologized to Monroe, her family, and the team, saying, "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. "

The veteran coach reflected on his time at Northville and expressed confidence in the girls' abilities to "do great things."

He said, "I wish I could have those moments back. 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 concluded, "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."

On Friday, Northville High School's female basketball team, the Falcons, lost 37-43 to La Fargeville in a game shown live on NHS Network.

After the game, a visibly upset Monroe, who had fouled out of the game and saddened to have lost in the title game for the second straight year, was with her teammates as they watched their opponents' victorious celebrations.

The camera then showed Zullo pulling Monroe's hair from behind before engaging in a verbal exchange with her.

A terrified Monroe walked away from her enraged coach while one of her teammates, who has been identified as Ahmya Tompkins, one of Zullo's nieces, stepped in between Monroe and Zullo to break things off.

Zullo told News10 that Monroe allegedly directed an expletive toward him after he instructed her to shake hands with the opposing team.

Alyssa Leroux shared a video showing when Zullo pulled Monroe's hair on Facebook, sparking a wide range of reactions from netizens.

Many people were outraged by the basketball coach's actions, with one person commenting, "Absolutely unacceptable! What did he do all season without cameras?!!"

Another person added, "No matter the outcome, she DID NOT DESERVE THAT!! No one does! He crossed a huge line, and if I was the parents, I'd go completely unhinged!!"

Meanwhile, many others called for Northville High School to fire Zullo. One person wrote, "Wow, he needs to be fired!!!!"

Another person added, "First, the school should fire him. Second, local police should arrest him either for Endangering or harassment. He is done no matter what."

A third Facebook user with similar sentiments shared, "I hope this got turned in, and he is not allowed to coach ever again."

The Northville Central School District responded quickly to the incident and announced Zullo's sacking via a statement on the school's website.

The statement, titled"A Letter to Our Athletes, Families, and Community," began, "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 school continued, "We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes, and this behavior is completely unacceptable."

They also said, "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. This individual will no longer be coaching for the Northville Central School District."

The statement concluded, "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."