As Mike Tyson walked into the ring for his highly publicized fight against Jake Paul, the crowd cheered. Celebrated as one of the greatest boxers of all time, Tyson was declared the world heavyweight champion for three years in the late 1980s. One aspect of his past is not so inspiring though; A convicted rapist, Tyson served nearly three years in prison after being charged with the rape of Desiree Washinton, an 18-year-old model and pageant queen who was competing in the Miss Black America pageant at the time. Despite being convicted of the crime, Tyson has continued to deny that he ever raped Washington.

Watching announcers recount Tyson’s famed past, and celebrating the 58 year old’s legacy while ignoring this huge mar on his transcript, it reminded me of the countless times I have seen people, especially men in entertainment, have their sins forgotten by the collective consciousness. 

Take, for instance, Dr. Dre. One of the fathers of rap music, credited with starting the career of Eminem and celebrated as one of the greatest producers ever, is also a rapist and domestic abuser. He has admitted to sexually assaulting Dee Barnes, a journalist and host of the show, “Pump it up” in 1991. Nicole Young, his ex-wife of 24 years, also accused him of domestic violence throughout their relationship. Other women who have been involved with Dre have also reported being victims of domestic violence by him. Despite his violent past, Dre has never truly been “canceled”. He has hosted the Super Bowl halftime show, been given a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, and has largely stayed in the public’s good graces as one of the greats in rap. 

Here are two people considered some of the greatest in their respective fields; Tyson as a boxing world champion and Dre as one of the most influential hip hop producers in the game. 

While their accomplishments are undoubtedly great, why do we as a culture forgive them for their violent acts?

My theory is that, as some of the greatest ever, these men are seen as aspirational. For young people listening to rap, getting into boxing, or even just existing, seeing someone rise to such successful and influential heights through their skill alone is inspiring. When someone brings up an indisputably bad part of their past, it damages that image that so many look up to. By glossing over these men’s sins and glorifying them despite the truth, they get to keep looking up to them, consuming their music or watching their fights, guilt free. 

In the aftermath of the Paul-Tyson fight, it is time to recognize that we as a society can’t keep forgiving men for violence, allowing them to continue making money and maintaining their power. Tyson was paid a whopping 20 million dollars for the fight. 

While the Me Too movement made great strides in exposing the sexual abuse rampant in the entertainment industry, influencing the convictions of Harvey Winestein, R. Kelly and, recently, P. Diddy, by collectively allowing men like Tyson or Dre to continue to make money and find commercial success, we allow powerful men to continue to run away from responsibility for their crimes, especially those against women.