Ohio lawmaker explains why he wants flag planting classified as felony

Ohio Representative Josh Williams introduced the O.H.I.O Sportsmanship Act in relation to flag planting and released his first statement on the matter.

“I am proud to introduce the O.H.I.O Sportsmanship Act to make flag planting at midfield a felony in the state of Ohio,” Williams said. “Behavior that incites violent brawls and puts our law enforcement officers in danger has no place on the football field.”

The bill would “prohibit planting a flagpole and flag in the center of the Ohio Stadium football field on the day of a college football game and to name this act the O.H.I.O. Sportsmanship Act.” Notably, this bill specifically references Ohio Stadium. So, it would presumably not include flag planting incidents at other college football stadiums in the state of Ohio, like Cincinnati‘s Nippert Stadium.

This comes after Ohio State and Michigan fought following their most recent game when Wolverines players went to plant a flag at midfield and several Ohio State players looked to stop them. Eventually, police officers used pepper spray and the Big Ten fined each side $100,000 for the incident.

Despite being introduced, there isn’t a lot of hope of actually getting this bill passed into law. House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill explained that the timing is going to make things difficult. The two-year General Assembly wraps up next week. So, if it doesn’t pass before then, it will need to be re-introduced.

“Well, it’s not gonna have time to be passed, you know, this late in the game,” Stephens said.

The flag planting incident during The Game came after Michigan won its fourth straight game over Ohio State, meaning a four-year senior for the Buckeyes has not been able to beat the Wolverines during their career. In this case, the loss was a major surprise with the Buckeyes preparing for the College Football Playoff while the Wolverines struggled at times throughout the season.

Dan Morrison contributed to this report