A few days ago, a high school basketball coach was fired after he was caught on camera yanking the ponytail of one of his players. Northville head coach Jim Zullo was caught on camera pulling the hair of a player.
The incident occurred during the Class D girls’ basketball final at Hudson Valley Community College. The player involved was Hailey Monroe and this happened following a loss to LaFargeville.
A teammate of Monroe, senior Ahmya Tompkins, can be seen sticking up for her against the coach. Zullo was seen to be visibly upset before the incident, prompting the intervention from Tompkins.
Here is a video of the incident taking place.
::: 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
Monroe is a senior and the program’s all-time leading scorer. She had fouled out of the game when the incident from Zullo happened.
After the incident occurred, the district released a statement condemning the actions of Zullo.
“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.”
Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images
An investigation is underway for this matter and Zullo was immediately let go. Before the title game, Zullo expressed his admiration for the team so this incident seemed to come out of nowhere.
“It’s great. We worked all summer, fall and spring for this. The kids worked really hard and they deserve to be here”
Zullo had come out of retirement to coach Northville in 2023, leading the team to the state championship in 2024. Before then, he began his coaching career in the 1970s and was very successful.
Zullo was even inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
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