The bill’s author described it as simply a message to the NCAA, which sounds somewhat reassuring. Otherwise, it might strike small-government conservatives as a prime example of why they dislike government.
Nonetheless, neither the author’s stated purpose nor the unlikelihood that the bill will soon become law should distract from the fact that Republicans risk ridicule, at minimum, when they imitate woke Democrats, even if they do so without intending it.
On Tuesday, according to ESPN, Republican state Rep. Josh Williams of Ohio introduced the O.H.I.O. Sportsmanship Act, which would classify as felonious the widely-publicized unsportsmanlike behavior that occurred following the Michigan Wolverines’ 13-10 upset victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 30, when Wolverines players planted a University of Michigan flag in the center of the Buckeyes’ field.
“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,” Williams’s proposed bill read, “whether before, during, or after the competition. Whoever violates this section is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.”
Flag planting, of course, symbolizes conquest of territory.
In this case, Michigan’s symbolic and unsportsmanlike act rubbed some Buckeyes the wrong way.
In a clip posted to the social media platform X, victorious Wolverines gathered at midfield to plant their flag.
At least a dozen Buckeyes players immediately took offense, and a melee ensued.
An on-field view of the Michigan flag plant and the altercation with Ohio State that followed ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/If9Ng7ecW0
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
An aerial view of the tussle showed more players entering the fray.
A Michigan flag is planted in the center of The Shoe and things get even more heated between Ohio State and Michigan pic.twitter.com/fPcvJ6Z8ND
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
Angry Ohio State players finally got hold of the flag, and some refused to let go.
Michigan tried to plant the flag again at midfield, Jack Sawyer ripped it off and threw it. pic.twitter.com/xpU0fWbVof
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) November 30, 2024
According to ESPN, breaking up the melee required law enforcement intervention, including the use of pepper spray.
Moreover, the Buckeyes had already seen this ridiculous behavior — and no doubt anticipated it.
Here is a clip of Wolverines players planting their flag at Ohio Stadium’s midfield following their victory in 2022:
Michigan plants the “M” flag at Ohio Stadium 👀
(via @JordanStrack) pic.twitter.com/LB1TxD1cVB
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 26, 2022
Williams explained that he introduced the bill in response to an epidemic across college football.
“After it happened at five separate games during Rivalry Week, and seeing that there was no immediate movement, I thought it was necessary to send a signal to our institutions of higher learning that they need to come up with policies to prevent this in the future, so it doesn’t risk harm to our law enforcement officers or student-athletes or fans,” he told ESPN.
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He later described that “signal” as “a shot across the bow, putting our institutions on notice.”
According to the Port Clinton News Herald, Republican Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens acknowledged that Williams’s bill will have to wait because the two-year General Assembly ends next week.
“Well, it’s not gonna have time to be passed, you know, this late in the game,” Stephens said.
The 2024 Wolverines punctuated a mediocre 7-5 season with a massive upset over their bitter rivals. For the Buckeyes, who entered the game as a 21-point favorite, a fourth consecutive loss to Michigan meant missing out on a trip to the Big Ten Conference Championship Game.
So the Buckeyes had cause for frustration, and the Wolverines behaved badly.
Nonetheless, the Michigan players — one hopes this does not need saying — did not actually conquer territory. They simply engaged in unsportsmanlike behavior. And bad sportsmanship does not qualify as a felony.
Moreover, the melee ensued at least in part because Buckeyes players took offense to the flag planting.
If someone offends you with bad behavior that no reasonable person would describe as obscene and that only threatens violence if you react to it, would you later acknowledge that you overreacted, or would you try to criminalize the behavior that offended you?
Woke Democrats would do the latter.
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