Hard checks, high impact shots, hard hits, knockouts, crushing tackles; some violence is natural in some sports. Those naturally violent sports (for example, football, hockey, soccer, wrestling and boxing), with all the aggression and violence, excite the audience and increase enjoyment. However, aggression and violence in sporting competitions are clearly becoming a problem. Destructive aggression is often deliberate and often encouraged by coaches, spectators, and teammates. This aggression is becoming more and more accepted by the public and more and more popular in today's sporting events. Michael Strahan, an NFL player, said in 2007 that: "It's the most perfect feeling in the world to know that you've hit a guy just right, that you've maximized the physical pain he can feel... Feel the life come out of him and that's it. You took all of this man's energy and just dominated him” (Coakley, 2008). Clearly, Strahan's words show acceptance of aggressive behavior and even glorify this aggression sportsMany of the games we play today have ancient origins and even then provided mass entertainment for fans. In the beginning, ancient sports like the Olympic Games began as rituals to honor the gods or a leader and later developed into public events with. festivals surrounding the games (Jewell, Moti, & Coates, 2012 Today, you still see festivals during the Olympics, pre-game and post-game activities held for NFL games, and fan-hosting parties on game day). surrounding your favorite sporting events. Interesting and ancient sporting events began as a way to help people prepare for war. Individuals in ancient places competed to prepare for military combat, to win the game. Whereas “sports violence can be seen as an example of laudable competitive drive present in worthy competitions or as subtle attempts to circumvent the rules” (Raney & Depalma, 2006). Furthermore, decades of media exposure may have led to an increase in acceptance of violence. Does media coverage exploit sports violence and aggression for ratings? It is unclear whether fans are becoming desensitized and/or imitating the violence witnessed across the media. Regardless, it is clear that changes must be made in light of the negative effects. Identifying and examining the role of the media in public acceptance of aggressive behavior in sport can help society minimize the violence and aggression surrounding sporting events to make sporting events safer for both players and for the fans.