The teams are trying to plant their flags in the middle of Ohio Stadium if an Ohio lawmaker gets their way. State of Ohio The games will be dealing with more than just pepper spray.
Ohio State Rep. Josh Williams introduced a bill Tuesday that would make it a crime to display flags in Ohio stadiums around Buckeyes football games.
OHIO came in response to the Sportsmanship Act authored by Williams. MichiganAn attempt to plant his flag following a Nov. 30 win at Ohio State, which started a brawl between the teams. Police used pepper spray to separate the players and other team officials. Ohio State University police are investigating the incident, which involved multiple law enforcement agencies and resulted in one officer being injured.
According to Williams’ bill, “No person shall place a flag with a flag in the center of the football field on the day of a college football game at Ohio State University’s Ohio Stadium, whether before, during or after.” Whoever violates this section is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.”
A fifth-degree felony is the least serious in Ohio and carries a penalty of six to 12 months in prison, a fine of up to $2,500 and up to five years of probation.
Williams, a Republican, represents Ohio’s 41st District, near the Toledo and Ohio-Michigan border, where many Buckeyes and Wolverines fans mingle. He told ESPN that the Ohio Stadium incident, along with several other college football brawls, caught his attention during the flag-off during rivalry weekend.
“After being at five separate games during Rivalry Week, and seeing no immediate action, I thought it was important to signal to our higher education institutions that they have policies to prevent this in the future. needs to be made. So it doesn’t put our law enforcement officers or student athletes or fans at risk,” Williams told ESPN. “[Ohio State-Michigan] Not just in college sports, all sports have the No. 1 rivalry, and to see it taken to this level, it disrespects not only the institution, but the college programs themselves. More importantly, it provided a real security threat.”
Ohio’s biennial General Assembly closes next week, so the OHIO Sportsmanship Act will likely need to be reintroduced next term. Williams plans to do so if he doesn’t see more steps taken by the Big Ten, the NCAA or individual schools to stop flagging, calling the bill “a shot across the bow, putting our institutions on notice.” Described as
The Big Ten Issued a $100,000 fine Both Ohio State and Michigan were fined following the incident, but no other individual discipline has been specified. Regarding the fine, Williams said: “It’s money, it’s nothing.”
Michigan coach Sharon Moore also mimicked the flag while appearing on the video board at the school’s men’s basketball game Saturday at home against Iowa.
“It shows that the organization is not taking this incident seriously,” Williams said. “We’ve been bragging about it, and it will continue into the future, and it will lead to increased risk, security costs and the potential for violence as a result of the game of college football.”
He said criminal penalties are needed because those who travel across state lines and violate university policies will likely avoid any significant repercussions.
Williams, who said he coached youth sports for 15 years, is a strong supporter of sportsmanship and said the bill would apply to Ohio State players raising flags after home games. are
Williams earned a law degree from the University of Toledo. He described himself as “a Buckeye, through and through,” while adding that his family has a mix of Ohio State and Michigan fans.
“We have a great rivalry. I enjoy the competition, win, lose or draw,” Williams said. “It was a tough game. It wasn’t a blowout victory. You know, Michigan should have gotten the win, and we carry our loss on the chin and live to fight another day, next week. And focus on next year, next recruiting period, but instead, we have to have this conversation.”