Latest news with #NorthvilleCentralSchoolDistrict
Fox News
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
New York girls' basketball coach cited for harassment after pulling player's hair during state final
A New York high school girls' basketball coach, who was fired over the weekend for pulling the hair of one of his players after a loss in the state championship game, was cited this week for harassment in the second degree, according to officials. Jim Zullo, 81, was fired from his job as head coach of the Northville High School girls' varsity basketball team on Sunday after he was caught on video pulling the hair of a player, Hailey Monroe, after the Falcons lost the Class D state final to La Fargeville Central School on Friday night. The Northville Central School District released a statement announcing the decision, and said it was "deeply disturbed" Zullo's actions. "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," the statement continued. "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." The incident occurred when both teams lined up for the post-game ceremony, which included handshakes between the players and an award presentation at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. On Monday, the Hudson Valley Community College Department of Public Safety released a statement confirming that Zullo met with officers and was issued an appearance ticket for harassment in the second degree. He will be due back in court at a later date. Zullo issued a statement over the weekend apologizing for his actions. "I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville 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," he said in a statement obtained by WNYT. "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." Zullo had previously won a state championship with the Shenendehowa High School boys' basketball team in 1987 and had advanced to the state final in each of his two seasons with the girls' team at Northville. He took the job there in 2023 at the urging of his wife, who was battling cancer at the time. She passed away during that season. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
NBC News
23-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Girls basketball coach in upstate New York fired after pulling player's ponytail in angry confrontation
A high school in upstate New York fired its Hall of Fame girls basketball coach over the weekend after he violently yanked the ponytail of his star player and then appeared to berate her following an emotional loss. The ugly incident unfolded after Northville High School lost to La Fargeville, 43-37, in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D finals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. Northville's Hailey Monroe, the Falcons' star senior who scored 12 points in the final, was standing with her teammates after the game and appeared to be crying in the wake of the emotional setback. That's when cameras captured Falcons coach Jim Zullo coming from behind and pulling Monroe's hair. Zullo appeared to yell at Monroe before a teammate, Ahmya Tompkins, intervened. Tompkins also happens to be the coach's great niece, T he Daily Gazette of Schenectady and other local news outlets had previously reported. '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,' the school district said in a statement posted to social media on Saturday. '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.' Zullo was unable to be reached for comment. Members of the district's board of education declined to comment beyond the social media statement. 'This is now a personnel matter,' board President Carolyn Wilcox wrote in an email. 'We are turning our attention to our young athletes to ensure their wellbeing at this very difficult time.' Zullo is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, having previously led Shenendehowa High School to the large school Class A state title in 1987. He reportedly came out of retirement at the encouragement of his wife, who died last year after a yearslong battle with cancer. 'She was my dad's biggest supporter and biggest fan,' his son Sam Zullo, who also coached a girls basketball team in Connecticut, told T h e Associated Press. 'She was my biggest supporter and biggest fan.'
New York Times
22-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Women's Basketball Coach Is Fired After Pulling Player's Ponytail
The coach of a high school women's basketball team from a community in New York's Adirondacks was fired after he pulled a player's ponytail at the end of a state championship game on Friday, the school district confirmed. Videos on social media and local television news show an older man yanking a distraught player's hair, talking emphatically and scolding her while another player attempts to separate the two. The hair pulling happened after the girl's varsity team for the Northville Central School District lost to LaFargeville Central School District in the Class D New York State championship game. The district in Northville, which is in Fulton County about 60 miles northwest of Albany and on Great Sacandaga Lake, said that it was 'deeply disturbed' by the conduct of its coach and that the 'individual will no longer be coaching' for the district. The statement did not say that the coach had been fired, but Sarah Chauncey, the district superintendent, said in a phone interview on Saturday that the coach's 'service with the district has been terminated.' Dr. Chauncey declined to confirm the identities of the coach or player. According to MaxPreps, a website that tracks high school sports rosters, the head coach for the team is Jim Zullo. The player appears to be a high school senior based on her jersey number. A contact for Mr. Zullo was not immediately accessible. Mr. Zullo told News10 ABC that, before the episode the player had directed an expletive at him when he instructed her to shake hands with the opposing team. Alyssa Leroux, 31, of Watertown, N.Y., was watching the broadcast of the game with her family on Friday. The placement of the team from LaFargeville, which is about 90 miles north of Syracuse, in the championship was a 'big deal' in the community, she said. At the very end of the game, as Northville's six-point loss was finalized, she thought she saw something strange. Then she got a text from a friend who asked her if she 'saw that coach pull that girl's hair.' She replayed the broadcast and confirmed it. Aghast, Ms. Leroux wanted to draw attention to it. She took a video from the television showing the episode and posted it to Facebook. Her video so far has gained 500 reactions — most of them angry emojis — and nearly 900 shares. It was also featured in local news reports 'I just felt terrible for the girl,' Ms. Leroux said. 'I mean she just played her heart out.' 'You can't do things like that when you're an older man with a young kid,' she added.
