After La Fargeville defeated Northville 43-37 in the New York state girls’ basketball class D state championship at the Hudson Valley Community College, the Falcons lined up to shake hands Friday night.
But just seconds later, video captured Northville head coach Jim Zullo getting into an altercation with senior guard Hailey Monroe and pulling her hair after she turned her back to him.
The incident, captured by the NFHS Network broadcast, quickly resulted in the school district firing the 81-year-old Zullo, who had just wrapped up his second season as Northville’s head coach after coming out of retirement.
The HVCC public safety office on Monday announced it had charged Zullo with second-degree harassment and issued him a ticket to appear in Troy City Court at a later date.
“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 statement read. “We hold our coaches to the highest standards of professionalism, sportsmanship, and respect for our student-athletes, and this behavior is completely unacceptable.”
As the incident between Zullo and Monroe unfolded, Ahmya Tompkins, Zullo’s niece, intervened to prevent the situation from escalating. The broadcast then cut away to La Fargeville celebrating the victory.
The state championship game took place at Hudson Valley Community College. In a statement, the school’s public safety department acknowledged that they were aware of the incident and that it “is currently under investigation by HVCC Peace Officers and Investigators with other Local Law Enforcement Agencies.”
It was the second consecutive year Northville finished as state runner-up.
Earlier this year, Zullo told Spectrum News 1 he was planning to retire after this season with the Falcons.
