COLUMBUS – House Republicans passed a bill to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports – shoving the proposal into a bill to allow college students to profit off their name, image and likeness.
The bill passed, 57-36, largely along party lines Thursday but its future remains murky. Senate Republicans signaled they're not on board with the last-minute addition. And the puts the underlying goal – to enact a law allowing Ohio athletes to profit off their fame by July 1 – at risk.
The amendment, offered by Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum, would ban transgender girls and women from joining female teams in both high school and college. They would, instead, have to join the male teams or co-ed teams. Schools that knowingly violated these rules could find themselves facing civil lawsuits.
Powell offered the change over the loud objections of Democratic lawmakers, who pounded on tables as Lakewood Rep. Michael Skindell yelled “unfair.”
null"The trans children need us to stand up for them. And I cannot believe," House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes started. "Actually, I can believe that we are here, because the cruelty truly is the point."
Opponents of the change say it’s discrimination against an incredibly small group of kids who already face higher rates of bullying, depression and suicide. Only 11 transgender youth have played girls' high school sports in the past six years under rules set by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
But Republicans argued that the change is about fairness and supporting women.
“Like many of you, I have fought for women’s equality all of my life. And now, I am continuing to fight for it today,” said Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, who argued that menstruation hampered female athletes.
“If you have a daughter, you should believe in this,” said Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton.
Republican lawmakers pushed the change even though they knew it would threaten bipartisan support for passing name, image and likeness legislation by July 1. Legislators removed an emergency clause that allowed the original bill to take effect immediately.
That’s important because Ohio is racing other states, including Alabama and Georgia, to enact name, image and likeness legislation by July 1. Ohio State University's athletic leaders threw support behind the NIL bill, in part, to avoid a competitive disadvantage with programs in those states.
"We should not be destroying good bills with bad ones," said Rep. Brigid Kelly, D-Hyde Park.
Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson told The Dispatch in a text, "Ohio State supports a clean name, image and likeness bill, like the bill passed by the Ohio Senate, which will support all student-athletes across Ohio."
Senate Republicans won't pass the bill
Before Thursday, Republican Sen. Niraj Antani's name, image, likeness proposal was on track to pass through the Ohio Legislature in record time. Now, the changes added by the House will need Senate approval, adding another hurdle.
Senate Republicans won't pass this version of the bill, said spokesman John Fortney, adding that they want more time to review the language on transgender athletes. "We think that issue deserves a full set of hearings. Period."
That means Antani's NIL language will need a new home if he wants to pass it by July 1.
How would the bill allow NIL?
The underlying bill would permit college athletes to be paid for endorsements, personal appearances and social media posts. Ohio State University's sports leaders threw support behind that proposal, saying it would help them compete with programs in other states.
Ohio State is well-positioned to take advantage of NIL legislation. It has a successful program and is in a major city with only the Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew as major-league professional teams.
More on NIL: Ohio State prepares to educate its athletes
“We'll see, but we certainly have an unbelievable opportunity here with the Ohio State brand, the Ohio State football brand, the city of Columbus and our social media presence,” Ohio State University football coach Ryan Day said. “I think all that combined allows us an opportunity for these guys to be in a great position to maximize this opportunity.”
Under the bill, athletes would need to inform colleges of NIL contracts, but colleges cannot prohibit them, though there are some conditions. For example, Ohio State has a contract with Nike. An athlete could sign with a competing company but could not wear that brand during a team activity.
USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Anna Staver and Columbus Dispatch reporter Bill Rabinowitz contributed reporting.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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