Fired high school basketball coach Jim Zullo gets sued by Hailey Monroe months after hair-pulling incident

Former upstate New York high school women’s basketball player Hailey Monroe filed a lawsuit against her former coach, Jim Zullo, and the school. Zullo was sued for pulling Monroe's hair during the NYSPHSAA Class D championship game in March.

Video of the incident went viral on social media. Zullo allegedly pulled Monroe’s ponytail after a 43-37 loss to La Fargeville and then yelled at her. Monroe, the school’s all-time leading scorer, appeared to be crying while her teammate stood somewhat between her and Zullo. The teammate was later identified as Ahmya Tompkins, one of Zullo's nieces.

In the lawsuit filed on Monday, Monroe alleged that Zullo had "a reputation and history of inappropriate, aggressive and dangerous conduct" toward his players. The suit also revealed that the school was notified about it.

“(The district) had been made aware of and knew of defendant James Zullo’s propensity to be inappropriately aggressive towards players on the Northville girls’ basketball team, including (Monroe), and had a long history of both physical and psychological abuse of students both in and out of the Northville Central School District,” the lawsuit reads according to The Daily Gazette.

Monroe reportedly is seeking unspecified damages, claiming that she “has been substantially damaged and suffered a monetary loss.” Meanwhile, Zullo has since been fired by the school.

Jim Zullo apologizes for pulling Hailey Monroe's hair

Jim Zullo issued an apology for pulling former player Hailey Monroe's hair during a game. Zullo's apology was shared by his son, Sam, to news outlets.

“I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game,” Zullo said per WNYT on March 24.

“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.”

Before the apology, Zullo told news10.com that Monroe cursed at him after he told her to shake hands with the other team, which led him to pull her ponytail.