By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-24 14:16:38 | Updated at 2025-03-26 11:21:35
1 day ago
Former high school girls basketball coach Jim Zullo has broken his silence after his firing, days removed from when he pulled the hair of a female player during a state championship game.
Zullo, 81, was the coach at Northville High School, which is a little over an hour away from Albany, and committed the despicable act moments after falling 43-37 in the New York State Class D championship.
The player who has her hair pulled has been identified as Hailey Monroe, who appears to be in tears at the time of the incident.
Zullo makes the hair tug with and starts yelling at Monroe before another player, who appears to be Ahmya Tompkins, reportedly Zullo's niece, gets in between her Northville teammate and head coach.
Zullo then begins to yell at both of them, with both Tompkins and her head coach pointing fingers at one another. None of what was said in the sequence can be heard in the video.
After the video went viral and millions watched it, Zullo has spoken out, showing remorse for his actions.
A New York high school basketball coach, Jim Zullo, has been fired after pulling a player's hair
Zullo was the coach at Northville High School, which is a little over an hour away from Albany
'I deeply regret my behavior,' Zullo said in a statement to ABC. '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.'
Northville quickly moved to fire Zullo after the incident. DailyMail.com's attempt to get comment from Monroe on the incident was unsuccessful.
Zullo reportedly told News10 ABC that Monroe swore at him after he instructed her to shake hands with the other team. Her response is what allegedly preceded the hair-pulling.
Zullo had been a longtime high school basketball coach in upstate New York, initially retiring in 1999 after a 34-year career on the bench.
He came out of retirement in 2023 to lead the Northville girls program, leading the team to back-to-back state-championship appearances. The end of the latter of those two games is when Monroe's hair was pulled.
'We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes,' the district said in a statement. 'This behavior is completely unacceptable. This individual will no longer be coaching for Northville Central School District.'
The Northville school district also said it would follow up with the affected people involved from its community.
