Should OHSAA change their rules for Lebron James?

OHSAA eligibility rules should be clearer for everyone to read

I believe the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s(OHSAA) eligibility rules should be made easier to understand. The controversies over the rules of accepting gifts in the last couple weeks in uncalled for. I think the OHSAA should take a look at its rules and possibly re-write any part of the rule that may be unclear. They should look at the rule about accepting gifts especially because I do not believe it is clear enough. Some athletes accept gifts thinking it is alright but what it actually does is make them ineligible. There are many different opinions on the issue as well.

One of the main opinions about Lebron James accepting gifts is that he should not have special rules because he is better than most players. Many of the people I surveyed said that “he should not be treated any different than other players”. Only two people out of the twenty-one I surveyed actually said the rules are good enough as they are now. The media sources seem to think that the OHSAA is not clear enough because many of the articles I have read have said something about the OHSAA rulebook or about the rule of accepting gifts. The rule as it is now should be re-written because

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Some rules should not have to involve the athlete. What should the penalty be? More than half of the people I have talked to say that the penalty should be some kind of suspension at the most and no longer than 4 games because that is more than nearly twenty percent of a season in high school basketball. Many people I talked to about this situation say that he was lying about accepting them as an academic reward. People should know that high school athletes cannot receive gifts. The media sources also believe that the penalty of total expulsion from athletics is far to much of a penalty.

If an athlete does accept a gift the penalty under the rulebook states that he or she forfeits their amateur status and has capitalized on athletic fame which would make them ineligible to participate in high school athletics. Is that to stiff of a penalty? Many of the people surveyed thought it was to high of a penalty for accepting something that is being given to you. The same people who doubted the gift’s academic purpose also say that the only reason he gave the jerseys back was because he knew he was going to get caught with them. These people should not attempt to give those athletes any kind of gifts or money or anything. The media also seems to think so because they are always saying on TV shows about how much kids should be able to accept and what they should be able to accept. He is on his way to being a two time nationals player of the year.

The rules for high school athletes maintaining their amateur status and accepting gifts should be another one under review. That is, if the athlete accepts the gift and keeps it, then he or she will no longer be eligible by the OHSAA rulebook. Many believe a two or three game suspension would suffice.

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