A member of the Ohio General Assembly wants to make flag planting at Ohio Stadium a felony.
Yes, seriously. Republican Josh Williams of Sylvania Township introduced a bill titled the “O.H.I.O Sportsmanship Act” on Tuesday that proposes felony charges for anyone who plants a flag at midfield. The bill, of course, comes less than two weeks after a midfield fight following Michigan’s 13-10 win over the Buckeyes when Michigan players went to plant a flag at the Ohio State logo.
Below is the text of the bill. The Port Clinton News Herald said that Williams could not be reached for comment.
“No person shall plant a flagpole with a flag attached to it in the center of the football field at Ohio Stadium of the Ohio State University on the day of a college football competition, whether before, during or after the competition.”
“Whoever violates this section is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.”
“A violation of this section is a strict liability offense and section 2901.20 of the Revised Code does not apply.”
The move to file the bill is nothing short of grandstanding and likely has no chance of passing. Cheap political points from symbolic bills are easy to gain. But it doesn’t change the fact that the easiest way to prevent an opposing team from planting its flag at midfield — and this rule applies to any team in college football — is to win the game. No one celebrates with a flag plant after a loss.
Michigan’s attempt was not the first time in recent memory that someone tried to plant a flag at Ohio Stadium. Baker Mayfield famously did so after Oklahoma got a road win over the Buckeyes. And Texas even did it against Michigan earlier this year after the Longhorns’ 31-12 win.
Williams’ bill also came on the same day the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office released body cam footage from three deputies who were in the middle of the fight. There is profanity in the video below.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS PROFANITY
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has released bodycam footage from the Ohio State/Michigan post-game scuffle. pic.twitter.com/RHKaSBZyat— 13 Action News (@13abc) December 10, 2024
One of the deputies pulls a can of pepper spray out and appears to spray it in the air in one of the videos. Police used pepper spray as they attempted to break up the melee.
The win was the fourth consecutive win for Michigan over Ohio State dating back to 2019 when Ohio State coach Ryan Day got his first (and so far only) win over Michigan. The Wolverines finished the season 7-5 and will play Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl while Ohio State (10-2) is the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff and hosts No. 9 Tennessee in the first round on Dec. 21.
