Is it fair for us to praise and reward athletes..

I think praising them for agressiveness on the field is ok, but praising them for it off the field isn't. I mean, showing initiative and trying to further themselves to win is one thing, but doing the same thing in life (if it's violently agressive) should definitely not be praised.

That's a good question. On one hand, it shouldn't matter that they're an athlete who is aggressive in their line of work- they should know better than to carry it out into the rest of their life. On the other hand, sports do encourage aggression, and they serve to perpetuate the "manly" stereotype that is so harmful- men are tough, men don't cry, etc. One of the biggest insults a coach can give his players is to call them a girl or a woman- indicating that being a woman is not a good thing! So this reinforces gender discrimination. Overall, I don't think that the way we encourage athletes to be aggressive is a helpful thing in our society. We advocate violence, and then we complain when we see it carried over into social life. Makes no sense.