Ohio lawmaker wants to make flag planting a felony after The Game brawl

After several fights broke out during rivalry week after teams planted flags on their opponents’ fields, there has been some discussion about whether things need to change. Now, a lawmaker in Ohio is taking things into his own hands.

State Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., introduced the O.H.I.O. Sportsmanship Act Tuesday. That act would make it a felony offense to plant a flag in the center of Ohio Stadium.

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.

Amid controversy from the fight, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day shared that he’s going to leave a decision on what to do about it up to the Big Ten.

“I mean obviously it’s a touchy subject because of the way the game ended,” Day said. “But I think that’s up for [commissioner] Tony [Petitti] and the guys at the Big Ten to decide and figure out what’s best. We certainly don’t want situations like that going on after the game.”

Notably, the fight brawl between Ohio State and Michigan wasn’t the only fight over a flag planting incident during the week. NC State and North Carolina fought in a similar incident. Then, at the end of the Florida and Florida State game, Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell was seen throwing a Gators flag on the ground.