Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order on Monday that will allow college athletes within Ohio to profit off their name, image and likeness.
The executive order comes in response to a bill in the state legislature stalling after the Ohio House of Representatives added an amendment to the bill that would ban transgender athletes from joining female teams in both high school and college sports.
The original bill was introduced by Ohio State Senator Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) and endorsed by Gene Smith, the Athletic Director at Ohio State University.
Due to the added measure, the legislation will not be enacted by Thursday — a deadline imposed by similar laws in other states taking effect on this date. If the new regulations were not enacted by then, Ohio’s athletic programs would likely face a disadvantage against other schools in those states.
So, Governor DeWine (R) used his executive powers to enact the change and circumvent the legislature. Because it is an executive order, it is limited to colleges and universities.
DeWine has also spoken out against the amendment offered by Rep. Jenna Powell (R-Arcanum), known as the Save Women’s Sports Act. In a statement, he said, “This issue is best addressed outside of government, through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions.”
“Last week I said that I would pursue all avenues to get this done, and I am very happy that we were able to do that by the July 1 deadline. While the executive order has the force of law for university students, I will continue to pursue legislation on name, image, and likeness so that our students can also benefit,” Antani said of the move by DeWine.
Watch the full statement and signing ceremony:
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
