CLEVELAND — CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio common pleas judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday, which would allow high school athletes in the state to enter into deals that benefit from their talents.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jezza Page issued her order Monday, which may allow all students who are part of the 818 schools in the Ohio High School Athletic Association to enter into their NIL deals.
Ohio is one of six states with rules in place that do not allow high school athletes to accept payment for their name, image and likeness. The other states are Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Wyoming.
Jasmine Brown, Jemire Brown’s mother, filed the lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 15 as a “parent or conservator.” Brown is a junior attending Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. He is the top wide receiver in the class of 2027. Brown has verbally committed to Ohio State University, which is located in Franklin County.
Brown’s mother and attorneys stated that Brown had already missed out on more than $100,000 in potential no-loss trades.
“This is an important ruling not only for Jammer but for high school athletes throughout the state of Ohio. There are 44 states that allow high school athletes to enjoy this benefit through the NIL,” said Luke Vidlam, Brown’s attorney at the Amundsen Davis law firm in Columbus.
OHSAA members voted decisively against the NIL proposal in 2022, by a vote of 538-254. The OHSAA Board of Directors last month approved language for the nothing else proposal that they planned to vote on in May. However, Monday’s ruling will likely speed up the timeline.
OHSAA spokesman Tim Stride said, “OHSAA expected the judge to issue a preliminary ruling today on the NIL lawsuit to determine the timeline moving forward. OHSAA is finalizing communications regarding next steps for our member schools and will communicate details on Tuesday.”
Another hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for December 15.
“It’s important for people to understand that NIL in high school is different than NIL in college,” Fadlam said. “There are guardrails put in place to protect the integrity of the sport and competition. In college, we’ve seen collegiate pools that NIL recruits and retains. That doesn’t exist at the high school level. Most states have regulations that don’t allow pools and how they can transfer and maintain eligibility.”
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