A HIGH school basketball coach has been fired after pulling one of his team members’ hair.
The shocking incident took place at the end of a match at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York.
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Cameras caught the moment Northville High School girls’ basketball coach Jim Zullo yanked the hair of senior Hailey Monroe.
Monroe appeared to be tearful as she and her team-mates watched LaFargeville celebrate their 43-37 win.
Zullo then walked up behind her and pulled her ponytail backwards in an aggressive manner.
A team-mate moved Munroe away from the coach and began exchanging verbals with Zullo, with the pair pointing fingers at one another.
A clip of the incident went viral on social media and led to significant criticism of Zullo, 81.
One fan reacted saying: “Old man out of line for that one.”
Another added: “Physical contact with players is never ok coaches should know better.”
A third wrote: “Good for the team-mate that stood up for her and good for the coach who got fired, there’s no place in sports for this type of behavior.”
And another commented: “Holy cow. This is not okay. Glad he was fired.”
Northville Central School District Superintendent Sarah A. Chauncey informed the press that Zullo “will no longer be with us”.
The district posted a longer statement later which read: “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, a veteran of high school basketball coaching, has apologised for his actions.
He said in a statement: “I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to LaFargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game.
“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.
“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.”
