system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is fighting considered part of the game in hockey?

The game is about putting the puck past each other’s goal line. Why is punching each other in the head still so deeply engrained in the sport? I understand that fighting allows players to police each other on the ice (you make a dirty play against us, our enforcers hurt you), but couldn’t this same logic be applied to many other team sports? 

Basketball - make a bad close out on our shooter, our enforcers hurt you. 

Baseball - you make a bad slide, our enforcers hurt you.

Why is it specific to hockey?
gpt
The real answer is that it has always been a part of hockey culture (particularly in North America) to let players police the game themselves to a certain extent. Part of that is because so much physical contact is allowed, players have always felt a need to protect their skill players from the other team getting *too* physical. While this is somewhat dying out (the old-fashioned "goon" whose sole job is to fight doesn't really exist anymore) the truth is that a lot of fans love the fights and a lot of old school coaches/players/executives still see it as an essential part of the game.