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NIL in Ohio: Initial no vote clouds future for OHSAA, schools, high school athletes

dave purpura, thisweek
·4 min read
Pickerington Central's Devin Royal, one of the top juniors in Ohio, could have been in line for NIL deals if rules had been approved by OHSAA member schools. His coach, Eric Krueger, said NIL could compromise the "purity" of high school sports.
Pickerington Central's Devin Royal, one of the top juniors in Ohio, could have been in line for NIL deals if rules had been approved by OHSAA member schools. His coach, Eric Krueger, said NIL could compromise the "purity" of high school sports.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s initial name, image and likeness proposal failed by more than a 2-to-1 margin, but many observers expect that is only the beginning of a saga that could include more rounds of voting and potential legal challenges.

The proposed NIL bylaw, which would have allowed high school athletes to sign endorsement deals while maintaining their amateur status, failed by a 538-254 margin. Voting by member schools took place from May 1-16.

Now, the immediate path forward is uncertain even if some consider the long-term outcome obvious.

“It’s just a matter of time in my opinion after legal battles and everything that (NIL is) probably going to (pass),” Dublin Coffman athletics director Duane Sheldon said. “Too many people were uncomfortable with the situation. There were too many unanswered questions.”

Nine states have approved NIL regulations for high school athletes – Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Utah.

The proposal came less than a year after NIL was allowed at the college level. The OHSAA’s rules would have paralleled college NIL-related legislation passed at the state level in June 2021.

“A lot of people just felt like this was too fast. A lot of people want to see how this develops at the college level,” OHSAA executive director Doug Ute said. “NIL scares people in terms of the definition and what it really is. NIL is not giving kids money to play high school sports. It just allows them to get compensation for their name, image and likeness.”

According to Ute, discussion will continue with member schools. He did not commit to a time frame or a potential second vote.

“A lot of people just felt like this was too fast. A lot of people want to see how this develops at the college level,” OHSAA executive director Doug Ute said of the initial NIL rejection by member schools.
“A lot of people just felt like this was too fast. A lot of people want to see how this develops at the college level,” OHSAA executive director Doug Ute said of the initial NIL rejection by member schools.

Athletes would have been free to approach or be approached by businesses, provided they do not clash with what the OHSAA determines to be within the guidelines of “education-based athletics.” The OHSAA’s April 5 press release that announced the vote cited alcohol, casinos, drugs, gambling and tobacco as being off limits.

Advertisements or endorsements could not include a school’s name, mascot or logo, and money earned could not benefit athletics departments or teams.

Enforcement would have fallen to individual schools.

“The vote just shows what the schools and the leaders think,” Olentangy Berlin athletics director John Betz said. “It’s not to say (member schools are) right, wrong or indifferent, but it’s what the leaders and administers voted on.”

Like Betz and several other area athletics directors and coaches, Columbus Academy athletics director Jason Singleton thinks NIL coming to high schools is inevitable.

“The world is changing, sports are changing and we just have to adapt,” Singleton said. “This gives us time to plan and to prepare. When it does pass, everybody should have policies in place.”

Although he is largely in favor of NIL coming to high schools, Olentangy football coach Wade Bartholomew shared the concern that the timing isn’t right.

“I don’t think the kids are mature enough, I don’t think the parents are mature enough for it (and) I don’t think the coaches are even mature enough for it,” Bartholomew said.

However, he added: “I don’t think it’s right that a 14-year-old kid can start a YouTube channel and make millions of dollars, but an 18-year-old athlete can’t use his abilities and talents to make money.”

Eric Krueger, who coached Pickerington Central’s boys basketball team to the Division I state championship this winter, said NIL could compromise the “purity” of high school sports.
Eric Krueger, who coached Pickerington Central’s boys basketball team to the Division I state championship this winter, said NIL could compromise the “purity” of high school sports.

Eric Krueger, who coached Pickerington Central’s boys basketball team to the Division I state championship this winter and has one of the area’s top juniors in first-team all-state forward Devin Royal, expressed concern about NIL causing rifts and compromising the “purity” of high school sports.

“Any time you get money involved, things can get a little messy, a little tricky,” Krueger said. “I just don’t think it’s necessary at this point. There’s a certain purity with kids being kids.”

Dublin Jerome boys basketball standout Ryan Nutter, who will be a senior next year, was happy to see the proposal fail.

“High school kids should just play for the love of the game,” he said. “I really don’t care about the NIL deals or anything flashy like that. I just want to play basketball and win. That’s all I want to do.”

dpurpura@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekDave

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Initial no vote clouds future of NIL for Ohio high school sports