COLUMBUS — Could planting flags on the field at Ohio Stadium become a felony? The answer is yes if one Ohio lawmaker gets his way.
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State Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) introduced House Bill 700, known as the O.H.I.O Sportsmanship Act, in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. 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.”
Violations of the proposed bill would result in a fifth-degree felony.
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The bill comes in the wake of a brawl that broke out following the annual Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 30.
After the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes 13-10, several Wolverine players carried a Michigan flag to midfield and tried to plant it on the Block O. That’s when a large fight broke out between the two teams.
Body camera video obtained on Tuesday showed the fight and law enforcement’s efforts to break it up. One deputy could even be heard telling a player, “Stop or I’m tasing you.”
The brawl got so big that deputies had to use pepper spray as crowd control.
According to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 President Brian Steel, an Ohio State officer was trampled during the brawl. The officer was taken to the hospital, treated for a head injury, and released.
The Big Ten Conference fined both universities $100,000 each after the fight.
In a post on X, formally Twitter, Williams said he was proud to introduce the O.H.I.O Sportsmanship Act.
“Behavior that incites violent brawls and puts our law enforcement officers in danger has no place on the football field,” Williams wrote.
On the same day of the Ohio State-Michigan fight, which was part of “rivalry week” in college football, a handful of fights broke out at other college games after an opposing team tried to plant a flag at midfield.
If the bill doesn’t pass before the end of the year, it would have to be reintroduced.
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