High School Basketball Coach Fired After Angrily Yanking Player's Ponytail

An upstate New York high school girls’ basketball coach has been canned after he yanked a player’s hair following their team’s loss on Friday -- an appalling moment was caught on camera.

As you can see, Northville High School player Hailey Monroe was already in tears after the game, but to add insult to injury 81-year-old coach Jim Zullo appeared to viciously yanked her back by her ponytail.

In the upsetting moment -- Monroe tried to pull away as another player appeared to tell Zullo to stop, but the coach was seen berating her, wagging his finger in her face and screaming at her.

WRGB reports that Monroe, the high school senior and all-time leading scorer, had fouled out of the game before the shocking incident unfolded.

Zullo tried to defend himself ... telling NEWS10 ABC that Monroe allegedly swore at him after he told her to shake hands with the other team, and that’s when things went south.

The Northville Central School District released a statement saying they expect the highest standards of professionalism and sportsmanship from their coaches, and Zullo’s behavior was totally unacceptable.

They made it clear he’s done not just at the school but in the whole district, and they’ll be offering support to the players and their families affected by the incident.