In an emergency November referendum, the Ohio High School Athletic Association agreed to allow the state's prep athletes to accept NIL deals, following a lawsuit from Ohio State football commit Jamier Brown in October. Now, a bill from a pair of Cincinnati-area state representatives is trying to end NIL opportunities for high school athletes.
As reported by Alex Harrison of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Republican representatives Adam Bird of New Richmond and Mike Odioso of Green Township announced House Bill 661 which would in part, "ban high school student-athletes from receiving compensation tied to their name, image, and likeness when it is connected to participation in interscholastic sports, nor receive compensation based on their position on a team roster."
The bill would make athletes ineligible in a sport for which they received compensation, but allow the athlete to remain eligible in other sports, according to Harrison, adding the bill would also require organizations such as the OHSAA to have rules for investigating violations and an appeals process for possible eligibility reinstatements.
"Critics of NIL worry that high school-aged athletes would be unable to handle the expectations of large money deals or that schools and boosters would change the sporting landscape with recruitment battles that could leave other programs unable to compete," Harrison wrote.
In a press release, Odioso stated, “The unwarranted, new OHSAA NIL by-laws changes dangerously undermine the most cherished aspects of grade school and high school education and cocurricular athletics.”
“High school sports are an extension of the classroom. They teach character, discipline, leadership, work ethic and fitness,” Bird said. “This bill is about protecting kids, keeping the focus on learning and development, and ensuring students across Ohio compete on a level playing field.”
Luke Fedlam, an attorney who has represented Brown's family in his NIL pursuits, released a statement on the bill.
"Ohio should not move backward," Fedlam said, as reported by Harrison. "Doing so means punishing student athletes. It also means we risk losing elite high school athletes to other states, which can negatively impact other student athletes, schools, communities and the state as a whole. School leaders have spoken through the OHSAA member school vote. Revoking their decision could and will hurt athletes and communities statewide."
