High school coach fired after he was caught on camera pulling player's ponytail

[Deberg_1990]

Wow.


https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/hi...ayers-ponytail

Northville High School fired girl's basketball coach Jim Zullo for yanking a player's ponytail after a loss.

How would you respond if this happened to your daughter?pic.twitter.com/CYs4IZKiL8

— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) March 22, 2025

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

In HS (what maybe 37 years ago?) if I'd ever cursed at one of my coaches, they probably would've slapped me in the mouth. And I'm reasonably sure that my dad would've slapped me in the mouth as soon as he found out what I'd done.



But we live in different times now and coddling people even when they disrespect their teachers/coaches/elders is the norm not the exception.

I'm glad you mentioned the parents' reaction, because that is something I was also thinking but failed to say. I couldn't imagine cussing at a coach when he told me to shake hands with the other team and if I ever were to cuss at a coach in that situation, I would expect parents and other adults who knew anything at all about sports to be angry at me.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by DanT

The incident involves a highly accomplished coach and a highly accomplished player. The coach won a state championship in boys basketball in 1987 and was later voted to the hall of fame for coaches in New York. The player is the all-time leading scorer for the program. Today, Coach Zullo issued this statement (https://www.timesunion.com/news/arti...g-20236765.php). In an earlier report, "Zullo told NEWS10 ABC that Monroe directed an expletive toward Zullo after he instructed her to shake hands with the opposing team, leading to the incident." https://www.news10.com/sports/northv...t-with-player/

It's also potentially relevant that Monroe had fouled out just before the closing minutes of the game and it was a hard-fought game to decide the state championship. So, if she had in fact said an expletive to the coach, she may have been upset about having been fouled out.

Anyway, I graduated high school in the 1980s and played high school sports. When I played, you could expect far worse from a coach if you cussed at him, especially if in fact you did it in a context that had to do with showing good sportsmanship or some other high-stakes situation. I'm not saying it's excusable what the coach did, but I am saying I damn sure can understand how a coach from a different era would react in a situation like that.

I don't give a shit what era you are. You don't put your hands on an young girl.

In the video the girl was crying and not even looking at the coach. He snuck up behind her and grabbed and pulled her hair.

He isn't a stable person and should not be around kids.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Tough way to end what sounded like a storied career.

[htismaqe]

I played for one of the most notorious coaches around in high school. He had no problem dressing you down like a drill sergeant. He NEVER laid a hand on anyone. And this was in the 1980's. There's absolutely zero excuse for this. Even if she cursed at him, he's a grown adult that should be able to brush it off and not put his hands on a kid. **** him. He deserves everything he gets.

[Wallcrawler]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Breaking the face of an old man due to him applying the same immaturity as the average 2nd grader seems appropriate.

A larger amount of violence should surely point out how inappropriate a minimal amount of violence is.

Male coach yanks young females players hair.

What world do you live in where you don't take a punch on principle for this?

Don't start none, won't be none, fafo, stupid games stupid prizes, pick your favorite.

He claimed its because she cussed at him lmao. Cuss back, you old bastard, but keep your ****in hands to yourself. She's the teams leading scorer as well.

If you're okay with anyone putting hands on your kid, you should gently **** yourself with a chainsaw.

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

In HS (what maybe 37 years ago?) if I'd ever cursed at one of my coaches, they probably would've slapped me in the mouth. And I'm reasonably sure that my dad would've slapped me in the mouth as soon as he found out what I'd done.



But we live in different times now and coddling people even when they disrespect their teachers/coaches/elders is the norm not the exception.

Yeah it's a real shame a grown man can't pull a kids hair and slap them with impunity. I remember the meatheads that coached at my school. I would not be interested in what they thought constituted physical violence on my child. There are better, more effective methods of discipline that are far from "coddling".

[scho63]

For you to put your hands on someone else's child during a school event under those circumstances show a complete lack of impulse control or severe anger issues.

Both disqualify you from ever being a teacher or anything to do with kids.

What a loser. Maximum penalty.

[TLO]

Guilty

[mr. tegu]

It was a little harder than I expected and he deserves to be let go. But can we stop with the overreactions of shouldn’t be around kids or is a terrible person that has no emotional control? He’s been a coach for what 40 years? Unless we start seeing a pattern of physical reactions like this then it’s reasonable to assume he had a bad reaction at a bad time that deserves punishment but don’t have to act like he’s some monster that has always abused kids and just got caught finally.

[Flying High D]

If you cussed around or at the high school coach, the coach would have your grandparents come and in front of the whole team and others. The grandparents would check the offender for worms, followed by an enema. Then the offender was only allowed to eat pumpkin seeds for a week. And you pussies are worried about a little hair tug. A hair tug, not a thumb up the ass, not a wooden spoon to the nuts smacking, a hair tug. drop some nuts CP.

[ghak99]

If he had grabbed the jersey to turn her around and deliver an ass chewing it might have got a pass from some depending on exactly what caused it. The hair makes it a no go for me.

Wouldn't be surprised if age, or something else in his life, is the root cause. We had an aging coach in high school who everyone knew needed to step away. He was old school, but it was more so all the years of stress adding up. He eventually threw a chair in class that broke a window in front of a room full of non football players and it lead to him stepping away. He became a whole new man and an even better member of the community once he stepped away from the stress of living up to the legacy.

[Wallcrawler]

Were talking about a dude who returned to coaching after his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. What a great time to spend extra time away from home.

Stories have his wife urging him to take the job as part of his un retiring.

Now, how big of an asshole do you have to be that your terminally ill wife wants you out of the way so she can ****ing die in peace?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

It was a little harder than I expected and he deserves to be let go. But can we stop with the overreactions of shouldn’t be around kids or is a terrible person that has no emotional control? He’s been a coach for what 40 years? Unless we start seeing a pattern of physical reactions like this then it’s reasonable to assume he had a bad reaction at a bad time that deserves punishment but don’t have to act like he’s some monster that has always abused kids and just got caught finally.

That's just the thing. The dude is a HOF coach. It's entirely likely that he's been like this all a long and people just looked the other way.

[ThrobProng]

Originally Posted by Wallcrawler

Male coach yanks young females players hair.

What world do you live in where you don't take a punch on principle for this?

Don't start none, won't be none, fafo, stupid games stupid prizes, pick your favorite.

He claimed its because she cussed at him lmao. Cuss back, you old bastard, but keep your ****in hands to yourself. She's the teams leading scorer as well.

If you're okay with anyone putting hands on your kid, you should gently **** yourself with a chainsaw.

Agreed, he should be tazed and given a few solid shots will a billy club.

[Mahomie]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That's just the thing. The dude is a HOF coach. It's entirely likely that he's been like this all a long and people just looked the other way.

Like Bobby Knight. Nobody's above the consequences of such churlish behavior.