There were two fights in sports last weekend.

One has captured an enormous amount of attention, sucking all the oxygen out of the sports room and dominating discussion on sports shows from the AM dial to ESPN.

A second sports fight, which occurred the day after the player-fan brawl Friday night in Detroit between the NBA’s Pistons and Indiana Pacers, was almost as bad. It was a bench-clearing free-for-all with college kids swinging away at one another, despite the best efforts of state police and a classy 67-year-old coach named Lou Holtz.

The brawl broke out Saturday during the fourth quarter of a college football game between Clemson and South Carolina. It was a real spectacle.

NBA Commissioner David Stern rightly wasted no time in handing out tough punishment for the players involved in the basketball fight. The suspensions were extreme and justified.

Pacer Ron Artest is gone for the rest of the season, 73 games. His teammate Stephen Jackson got 30 games and Jermaine O’Neal was suspended for 25 games. Other players involved in the fight received lesser punishments. And the police are still investigating possible criminal penalties.

But the actions of Clemson President James Baker and South Carolina President Andrew Sorensen should earn greater respect. Theirs were self-imposed and left no doubt about how serious they considered the fight.

The two schools said they will not participate in any post-season bowl game if they receive bids, a decision that could cost the schools millions of dollars.

Professional athletes can’t – absolutely cannot – go into the stands after fans. The NBA made the right decision with swift and harsh punishment.

Two college presidents used a terrible on-the-field fight to teach a life lesson that many athletes, especially at the elite level, have missed: Actions have consequences. Perhaps if the NBA brawlers had known people willing to discipline athletes, even star athletes, their Friday night fight could have been avoided altogether.