Flag planting at Ohio State would be felony under proposed law - ESPN

If an Ohio lawmaker gets his way, teams attempting to plant their flags in the middle of Ohio Stadium during Ohio State games will be dealing with more than just pepper spray.

Ohio state Rep. Josh Williams introduced a bill Tuesday that would classify flag planting at Ohio Stadium around Buckeyes football games as a felony.

The O.H.I.O. Sportsmanship Act, authored by Williams, comes in response to Michigan's attempt to plant its flag after a Nov. 30 win at Ohio State, which set off a brawl between the teams. Police employed pepper spray to separate players and other team personnel. Ohio State University police are investigating the incident, which involved multiple law enforcement agencies and resulted in an injury to an officer.

According to Williams' bill, «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, whether before, during, or after the competition. Whoever violates this section is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.»

A fifth-degree felony is the least severe in Ohio and carries a penalty of six to 12 months in prison, up to a $2,500 fine and up to five years' probation.

Williams, a Republican, represents Ohio's 41st district, near Toledo and the Ohio-Michigan border, where many Buckeyes and Wolverines fans intermingle. He told ESPN that the Ohio Stadium incident, along with several other college football scuffles around flag planting during rivalry weekend, caught his attention.

«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