From COVID Mandates to Crony Cover-Ups: Why Oklahoma Must Dismantle the OSSAA and Restore Local Control Over Student Athletics

Investigative Analysis: In Oklahoma, where freedom and local control have long been cherished values, an unelected nonprofit bureaucracy has quietly amassed power over the lives of thousands of young student athletes. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA), founded in 1911 as a voluntary organization, now wields near-monopolistic control over high school interscholastic activities, from athletics to music and debate. This entity, governed by a board of superintendents and principals without direct accountability to voters or taxpayers, enforces eligibility rules, classifications, transfers, and safety protocols that often trample on individual liberties and school choice. From 2019 to 2025, the OSSAA’s missteps have exposed it as a prime example of government overreach by proxy, meddling in decisions best left to local school boards, families, and communities.