SEC, ACC Commissioners Call Out CFB Flag-Planting After Viral Postgame Fight Videos

Both the ACC and SEC called out the practice of teams planting a flag on an opponent's field following a number of postgame fights over the practice during the past week.

"We have to collectively come together," ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. "We can do things independently as conferences, but we need to all come together, and our approach must be aggressive. This is unacceptable."

"There shouldn't be flag-planting. Go win the game and go to the locker room," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey added. "If you want to plant a flag, you play 'capture the flag' or you join the military or you fly to the moon."

And Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark also said the major conferences should "get together to vet these issues."

The practice ran rampant over the weekend, with fights breaking out at a handful of games after a flag- or pitchfork-planting incident, most notably between Michigan and Ohio State. Both teams were fined $100,000 by the Big Ten after their brawl following the Wolverines' upset win:

It was not a standalone situation.

NC State and North Carolina players fought after Wolfpack players planted their flag:

Florida State players didn't take kindly to Florida planting its flag:

After the game, Florida head coach Billy Napier called the flag-planting "embarrassing to me."

"We shouldn't have done that," he added. "We won't do that going forward, and there'll be consequences for all involved."

Arizona State stuck its pitchfork in the ground against Arizona, which didn't sit well with the Wildcats:

The practice has divided opinion.

Some people believe the flag-planting is a classless act, and teams should win with a bit more grace, even in rivalry contests. They see the act as a lack of sportsmanship. From that perspective, it's easy to see why a team would defend its home turf.

Others didn't feel the practice was that big of a deal, and certainly didn't think it was worth fighting over.

"Let the boys play," Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield told Dellenger regarding the possibility of flag-planting being banned. "I'll say this: OU-Texas does it every time they play. It's not anything special. You take your 'L' and you move on. I'll leave it at that."

Former Michigan player Jason Avant—who wrestled the flag away from Ohio State players on Saturday—agreed.

"I thought it was classless on their part to start fighting," he said. "Over the last five years or so in college football, it's been a staple that the winning team plants flags. That's a part of it. Ohio State kicked our butt for 15 years and they planted flags. We didn't take exception to it. Texas did it on our field earlier this year. We didn't take exception to it."

The days of not taking exception to the practice seem to be over, however.