How often has some high school or college official stood up and sternly said that fighting on the athletic playing fields and courts won't be tolerated and the next time something happens, well, serious consequences will result, just wait and see?

How many times before have we heard the strong words and then been left waiting ... and waiting for the action to back them up?

So, give the O'ahu Interscholastic Association credit for both a swift and significant response yesterday in ordering both 'Aiea and Campbell to forfeit league games next week as a result of an unacceptable benches-clearing brawl that brought Saturday's game to a premature and potentially dangerous end.

There was no huffing and puffing followed by furious backpedaling. No hemming and hawing. The OIA's football committee and Dwight Toyama, its executive director, did what needed to be done under the rules and did it in a clear and timely manner.

It is both noteworthy and commendable that there was little he-said, they-said postgame finger-pointing. Instead, there was accord that the entire situation, however it developed, was unacceptable and action was necessary to discourage similar incidents.

That the OIA meted out the sanctions flying in the face of the league's financial interest as well says something about the decision. Taking away, in the process, what figured to be two pretty good opportunities for gate receipts has to hurt what is hardly a well-endowed bank account for the public schools.

It has thrown a monkey wrench into the division for everybody, most of all for two teams which suddenly find themselves with forfeit losses that put their playoff chances at risk in an already tight race.

All in all, this is one of the rare cases where the "it hurts me as much as it does you" scenario would seem to apply all the way around. A point not to be missed.

As such it gives instant teeth to a zero tolerance fighting policy. It sends an unmistakable message that fighting is not part of the game and will be dealt with accordingly. As 'Aiea head coach Wendell Say told The Advertiser's Wes Nakama, "... make that be a lesson to the kids."

In this case, that should be for not only the players at the schools involved, but a statewide audience. Indeed, after this episode it would take a pretty clueless group anywhere in the state to have missed the point of this lesson enough to engage in conduct likely to invite the same sanctions.

The OIA, by the force of its stand yesterday, has thankfully seen to that.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.