Ohio GOP lawmaker moves to ban Name, Image and Likeness benefits for high school athletes

Garfield Heights senior Marcus Johnson. (Photo by WEWS.)

A new bill proposed by an Ohio Republican lawmaker would revoke the brand new ability for high school athletes to be compensated for their Name, Image and Likeness. Just Monday, the state’s student athletic association announced it had voted to allow for the NIL deals.

The legislation, shared with us, is sponsored by state Rep. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond). It states that high schoolers can’t participate in NIL deals — like basketball superstar Marcus Johnson.

“It’s a blessing from God,” Johnson told us earlier this year about his athletic ability and winning awards.

He has national recognition, fans screaming for him at games — and tens of thousands of followers on Instagram.

“We have received a lot of offers from clothing lines to drinks, drink companies,” Sonny Johnson, Marcus’ father and coach, said.

But he hasn’t accepted any deals, since he’s only a senior at Garfield Heights. But Sonny is thrilled that athletes like Marcus and their families will now get a chance for a slam dunk.

“If you can get a kid that could get a couple thousand dollars without the parents having to give it to him, it saves us some groceries,” Sonny said, laughing.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced Monday that it passed new bylaws that allow the high school athletes to be compensated through appearances, licensing, social media, endorsements and/or the use of branding based on their public recognition or notoriety.

It also establishes limitations so that athletes do not hurt their eligibility when it comes to recruiting.

“Having NIL in Ohio would definitely be great for me and my family,” Marcus said.

But those opportunities may be blocked.

“Earning money is not what Ohio high school sports is about,” Rep. Bird said.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement, the Republican lawmaker proposed a bill to ban NIL deals for high school student-athletes.

“We want our sports to be about character development and leadership and fitness and social connections and all of those kinds of things — and not creating even more pressure for our students,” Bird continued.

Students shouldn’t be earning more than coaches and referees, he said, and the athlete’s focus shouldn’t be on endorsements.

“When you’re using public money to create gymnasiums and stadiums and weight rooms, we should be using that publicly paid-for facility for those kinds of things and not for the athlete to be earning NIL money,” the lawmaker said.

Sonny said opponents to NIL don’t understand. Marcus added that 44 other states already approve of NIL for high schoolers.

“I’ve just seen a lot of talent leave Ohio… A lot of talent that want to experience other places because they have NIL,” Marcus said.

The bill is in the early stages and isn’t expected to be heard for several months. Still, athletes hope it’s an airball.

This debate stems from a court case.

A Franklin County high school football player’s mother filed a lawsuit against the OHSAA in mid-October, arguing that students should be permitted to make money from their image. Her son had already missed out on more than $100,000 in potential NIL deals, the mom said.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jaiza Page issued an order in late October, allowing students to make money.

Thus, OHSAA had an emergency referendum vote. It passed.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

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