Upstate, New York High School Basketball Coach Fired After Pulling Students Hair

An Upstate, New York high school basketball coach is in hot water after pulling the hair of one of his student athletes.

Local New York High School Basketball Teams Wrap Up 2025 Season

At this point of the year, local basketball teams who have been putting in the work on the hardwood are wrapping up their seasons.

On Friday, Northville High School took on La Fargeville in the New York State Class D finals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York.

The game was close with a final score of La Fargeville 43 to Northville's 37. However, it's what happened after the game that has been making headlines across the nation.

WATCH: Upstate, NY Basketball Coach Yanks Student Athletes Hair

After the game, cameras caught Northville High School's coach, Jim Zullo, pull the hair of one of his players.

According to CBS6 in Albany, Zullo is seen on video aggressively pulling the hair of player Hailey Monroe.

Monroe is a senior who is also Northville girls basketball program's all time leading scorer, she also fouled out during Friday nights game.

News10 spoke to Coach Zullo who says that Monroe "directed an expletive" towards him after he told her to shake hands with the other team. That's when Zullo grabbed Monroe by the ponytail and yanked down.

Another teammate is seen intervening between Zullo and Monroe after the incident.

You can watch the video of the incident below:

Northville High School Coach Fired After Hair Pulling Incident

As the video made its way across social media over the weekend, Northville Central School District released a letter to their "Athletes, Families, and Community."

In the letter they write that they are "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."

The school goes on to say that the coaches behavior is "completely unacceptable."

According to the letter Coach Zullo, who is not mentioned by name, "will no longer be coaching for the Northville Central School District."

They go on to add:

We assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the District is actively addressing it.

You can read the full statement on the Northville Central School District website.