HUBER HEIGHTS — Jamier Brown, a five-star wide receiver prospect from Wayne High School, is at the center of a new lawsuit aimed at allowing Ohio high school students to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
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Brown’s mother filed the lawsuit against the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.
The lawsuit alleges that Brown, who has already committed to play at the Ohio State University, has been approached with multiple NIL opportunities worth over $100,000 in potential revenue. He has not been able to do anything with the opportunities due to the OHSAA’s ban on NIL compensation for high school athletes.
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“This policy places high school athletes in Ohio at a severe economic and competitive disadvantage,” the lawsuit states.
It also alleges that the OHSAA has “refused to modernize its Bylaws” despite 44 other states and the District of Columbia adopting policies permitting high school athletes from profiting from NIL.
In a statement sent to News Center 7, a spokesperson for the OHSAA stated that its Board of Directors approved language on NIL in September that was originally meant to go to member schools next May as part of the annual referendum voting process.
The lawsuit may force the vote to happen sooner.
“We were hoping this would wait for the referendum voting period in May, but as we told our schools this fall, the vote may have to come sooner than that due to a lawsuit, which would trigger the emergency vote. We are prepared to move forward with our member schools on this issue,” Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director, said.
OHSAA member schools voted down the organization’s first NIL proposal in 2022.
Brown shared the following statement on the lawsuit on social media Wednesday afternoon:
Dear Ohio,
I want to share something that I hope can help make a real change for high school athletes in Ohio. I’m filing a case in court to challenge the current Ohio High School Athletic Association rules that stop athletes from using their Name, Image, and Likeness. I’ve talked about this with my attorney, my family, and the people close to me, and I want to use my platform to make a difference for athletes across the state.
I’m being raised by an amazing single mom who’s always doing her best to keep things steady while helping me chase my goals on and off the field.
Like what’s allowed in other states, I want to be able to use my name, image, and likeness to help my family financially and get the extra after school academic help and football training that can help me maximize my potential. NIL can make that possible for me and many other student athletes in Ohio.
We’ll see what happens next, but I want to thank those that are standing with me during this process. For any questions, please contact my attorney.
Now it’s back to school and football where the real work continues.
— Jamier Brown
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