America discovers violent Aussie sport, divided by sickening ‘Run It Straight' KOs

News.com.au

07-05-2025

The sporting world has discovered the new 'Run It Straight' craze and it appears people don't quite know what to make of the violent new sport taking Australia by storm.
Run it straight has transformed from a viral social media trend to a full fledged sport in recent months, with 'Run it Straight Official' and 'RUNIT Championship League' turning it into a business and holding competitions in Australia.
Last week the RUNIT Championship League held a competition in Melbourne, with $20,000 up for grabs for the winner.
Semi Osa was declared the winner of the event at Melbourne Pavilion that drew a solid crowd and racked up millions of views online.
Former Rabbitohs forward George Burgess took on ex-Fijian rugby player Nemani Nadolo in an exhibition — Burgess got the win and managed to knock Nadolo over, but it looked like the two footy stars held back ever so slightly and couldn't produce a knockout collision.
One disappointed fan wrote on Instagram: 'Check their brake pads. Handbrake was still up on first gear,' while another said 'they played it safe'.
Burgess and Nadolo posed for a photo afterwards, with the Fijian saying RUNIT was 'one of the scariest yet most fulfilling things I've done since retiring from the game.'
Sport fans around the world including America have discovered RUNIT's big hits, and opinion is divided.
Footage of one contestant getting poleaxed and his body going limp from a massive hit has gone viral, racking up 19 million views on Instagram — and it's safe to say not everyone is a fan of Run It Straight.
'Ban this before someone dies,' one person commented.
'How much do these guys get paid to get permanent brain damage,' a second said.
A third added: 'This is so stupid! All fun and games until someone gets permanently injured.
A fourth said: 'This is the lowest form of IQ for sport. Minimal to no skill. Just hammer as hard as you can. What is next? Who can run into a wall the hardest head first?'
Another commented: 'When rugby turns into stupid American games …'
RUNIT believe they are onto the next big thing and are confident the sport can one day rival the UFC.
Judging by the reaction from American sport fans on social media, it's safe to say Run It Straight might have more of a future as a TV product than pickleball or Dana White's Power Slap.
One person wrote: 'Where can I bet on this?'
Popular US sports social media account Barstool Sports shared a story about Run It Straight, describing it as 'the sport of the future'.
'Run It Straight has everything you could ever want in a new sport,' Barstool wrote.
'Speed and violence. And there's absolutely zero barrier for entry.
'There are no complex rules that a casual viewer wouldn't understand. There are no little intricacies of the game that wouldn't translate to a television audience.'
Bussin' With The Boys posted a clip of a brutal collision, declaring: 'The next great sport is here, Run It Straight.'
Many American sport fans likened Run It Straight to the Oklahoma gridiron drill where two players, often a defensive and offensive player, collide after getting a running start.
But the Tight Five Rugby accounted posted: 'This new run it straight competition is sickening. People with zero technique running at full tilt, someone is going to get seriously injured soon.'
What is Run It Straight?
The sport involves four rounds of players charging at each other along 'a 20m x 4m battlefield' grass runway, with each competitor taking turns carrying a rugby league ball.
The objective is to either successfully tackle the opponent or run them over in a hard-hitting collision. The contest is ended when a player is knocked out or concussed.
If both competitors are still standing and have their wits about them after four rounds, a set of judges decide the winner, with the main criteria they are judging being damage.
Co-founders Rennie Molimau and Virgil Tauaa say they have modelled the league off the success of the World Arm Wrestling League and Power Slap and believe it is destined to succeed.
After the Melbourne competition, RUNIT will then head to New Zealand on May 25, before going to the United States, Saudi Arabia and England later in the year.
Expert slams 'violent' risks of Run It Straight
RUNIT states, unlike most 'run-it-straight' challenges, they have a set of strict rules, with medical staff waiting to assess players before and after each hit in a bid to combat head injuries and promote safety.
But with damage the end goal it is a difficult proposition to achieve.
While on the surface it all might seem like all fun and laughs, leading Australian sports neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce found it almightily troubling, telling news.com.au that participants need to understand they are likely shortening their lives every time they 'run it straight'.
'I was pretty gobsmacked, speechless actually when I saw this competition idea starting because for me as someone who has seen hundreds of footballers and rugby league players who are now struggling with brain injury and long-term impairment it is really troubling,' Dr Pearce told news.com.au.
'I just cannot understand how they could take the most violent aspect of sport and just turn it into a spectacle where the objective is just to try and knock out or hurt your opponent.
'In a lot of these other sports (such as NRL, AFL and rugby union) you're trying to avoid direct contact whereas this is purely running at each other, it's insanity.'
It begs the question, why would people want to compete in a sport that puts not only your body on the line but your brain health?
Dr Pearce hypothesised it may be down to the growing belief that traditional contact sports have 'gone soft', a notion he believes has been incorrectly peddled for years.
'A lot of these people competing have a footy background and if anything it's worse as they have already likely had several head knocks which add up a lot quicker than people realise,' Dr Pearce said.
'Then there's the idea that (contact) sport is getting soft. But that's incorrect, it is actually getting far harder as the athletes are now bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, just look at the injury lists every week.
'We are seeing at all levels of the game higher injury rates but yet people are still complaining that sports are getting soft because we're trying to crack down on things that are causing damage to our brains and bodies.
'So to them, I'd say you look at the evidence first before making comments around the game getting soft. We're just basically trying to be more responsible in looking after our athletes as they are not just commodities.'