Hall of Fame high school basketball coach fired for pulling hair of player offers apology

Northville of New York girls coach Jim Zullo wishes 'I could have those moments back,' after the disturbing postgame scene that went viral

SBLive

A Hall of Fame New York high school basketball coach fired for pulling the hair of a female player after losing a state title game, has apologized.

Jim Zullo said in a statement: "I wish I could have those moments back," referring to the disturbing scene caught on an NFHS broadcast that went viral Friday after his Northville team lost 43-37 to La Fareville in a Class D State championship.

The 81-year-old coach, who came out of retirement to coach the team, pulled the ponytail of one his players, Hailey Monroe, who lined up with teammates during a postgame ceremony.

::: HIGH SCHOOL COACH FIRED :::

Coach Jim Zullo was FIRED after being caught on camera pulling the hair of a player.

The incident happened after his team lost the New York Class D state championship game.

And watch that amazing young woman stand up for her friend! pic.twitter.com/OAEsKFt6s0

— Robbie Harvey (@therobbieharvey) March 22, 2025

The incident led to his firing that same day by the Northville Central School District.

It's not clear what provoked Zullo's actions after an emotional loss, and he offered none in his statement on Saturday.

According to the Times Union in Albany, Zullo won more than 500 games as a boys basketball coach at four schools and was inducted into the state Basketball Hall of Fame for his work over three decades.

This was his second season coaching at Northville, and his first experience coaching girls.

Monroe is the school's all-time leading scorer, including boys and girls.

Zullo guided the Falcons to back-to-back appearances at the Class D state championship game – losing both matchups.

According to various reports, Zullo's apology was sent to various media outlets by his son, Sam.

He returned to coaching, it was reported, at the encouragement of his wife, who died last year from cancer.

"I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game," the statement read. "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."

It took less than a day for the Northville Central School District to provide the following 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. We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes, and this behavior is completely unacceptable.

“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.

“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.”

Zullo finished his apology with this:

"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. 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.”

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