Fired high school girls basketball coach apologizes for hair-pulling incident with player

NORTHVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — A coach who was fired within hours of pulling a player's ponytail after a loss in a New York girls basketball state championship game issued an apology Sunday, saying his actions were unacceptable.

Jim Zullo, formerly the coach of the girls team at Northville Central, was dismissed by the school in the Adirondacks after video footage showed him pulling the hair of player Hailey Monroe moments after their team lost the Class D state final to La Fargeville, 43-37 on Friday night.

“I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game," Zullo said in the statement, which was first obtained by Albany-area television station WNYT. "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.”

The incident happened as the teams were lining up for the postgame ceremony, which included handshakes between the teams and the presentation of awards following the title game at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.

Zullo, 81, coached at Northville for the past two seasons and took the team to the state final in each of those years. He was a highly successful boys coach in the state for decades, winning a state championship with Shenendehowa High in 1987, before beginning to coach girls in Northville in 2023.

He took the Northville job, in part, at his wife's urging while she was dying of cancer. His wife died during the 2023-24 season.

“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 said. "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.”

The Northville school district said Friday night in the statement announcing that Zullo would no longer be coaching at the school that it wants to “assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the District is actively addressing it.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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