Tag: OHSAA

Ohio administrators shoot down NIL proposal

The Ohio High School Athletic Association voted not to pass a proposal that would have allowed student-athletes to benefit from NIL.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association voted not to pass a proposal that would have allowed student-athletes to benefit from NIL on Tuesday.

538 schools voted not to pass the proposal, with 813 of 817 schools in the OHSAA submitting a ballot on the subject.

“Every year, the referendum voting process shows that our member schools have a voice in this democratic process,” OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said, per release. “Our office was very pleased with the discussion and insights our schools expressed this spring as we met with them about each of the 14 proposals. If NIL is going to enter the Ohio interscholastic landscape, we want the schools to be the ones to make that determination.”

Ohio student-athletes are currently not allowed to sign endorsement deals without compromising their eligibility. Had the proposal passed, there would have been restrictions on NIL deals. Student-athletes would not have been able to use their school’s name, logo, or any other trade marks associated with the school. They also would not have been able to promote casinos, gambling, drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

The proposal did not include potential penalties for any NIL violations. However, it is likely that punishments would have included forfeiture of games and possible postseason bans.

Ohio would have joined Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Utah as the 10th state to allow NIL for high school athletes if the proposal passed.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine asks schools not allow fans through December for winter sports

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has a simple request for high schools across the state — keep fans out of stands for another month.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has a simple request for high schools across the state — keep fans out of stands for another month.

Some schools across Ohio have paused their winter sports because of COVID-19 spikes in the area. For those that have not suspended their sports, DeWine requested on Tuesday that schools still playing not allow fans to attend.

“For those that have not suspended sports, we would ask you when you conduct winter sports — basketball games, whatever — to do so without fans,” DeWine said, per Cleveland.com. “This is another opportunity for us to pull back. It allows our student-athletes to continue to play, which as a parent or grandparent is the most important thing.”

RELATED: New Jersey pushes winter high school sports to 2021

Ohio is asking schools to adopt this policy through Jan. 1, 2021, when it will be re-evaluated. However, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) followed up DeWine’s request by announcing that parents are still allowed to attend games. Last week, the OHSAA announced its intention to move ahead with the winter sports season as originally scheduled.

“As one superintendent told me today, the idea of bringing 200 adults into our gym at this point during the pandemic with the spread we’re seeing makes no sense,” DeWine said.

LeBron James says high school basketball needs a shot clock as soon as possible

LeBron James says the states who have not implemented a shot clock for high school basketball need to do so as soon as possible.

When the 2019-20 high school basketball season began, there were eight states across the country that had implemented a shot clock. According to the AP, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington use a shot clock of 30 or 35 seconds for either boys or girls or both on the varsity level.

But LeBron’s home state of Ohio, for example, continues to play without a shot clock in high school basketball this season. On Friday, as the state playoffs began to heat up, James took to Twitter to suggest that states like Ohio and others need to incorporate a shot clock. While re-sharing a post from friend and high school teammate Romeo Travis, LeBron added that playing without a shot clock is “not basketball” and that high school hoops needs a “shot clock ASAP.”

As the NBA game has continued to increase its offensive pace and scoring over the last 10 years, it does seem odd that we continue to play high school basketball in the same format we did before the shot clock was invented in 1954. When Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone invented the shot clock 70 years ago he did so to increase the pace of play. That still hasn’t happened on the high school level and you can count LeBron as someone who believes it needs to–ASAP.

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