I’ve never been into the fighting world, but when there’s a big fight on TV, it has been fun to go to a friend’s house and have a “fight party.” On Aug. 26, there is going to be arguably the biggest fight this year between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, which stands to rack up hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mayweather has a history of domestic violence and McGregor has a history of making racist remarks, so why in the world does our society worship these men? Why do we reward them with millions? Why is this fight happening at all? Worshiping men like this is a big reason why abuse towards women is on the rise and racism is at an all-time high.

Accusations towards Mayweather started back in 2002. He pleaded guilty to two counts of battery domestic violence, while three other charges (stalking, obstruction of a police officer and violation of a protection order) were dismissed. The victim was his daughter’s mother, and he had reportedly punched her several times in the face and body. He received 48 hours of community service and two days of house arrest, a hardly proportionate sentence.

In 2003, Mayweather was arrested for allegedly fighting with two women in a Las Vegas nightclub. He was convicted and sentenced to 100 hours of community service. Both women reported being punched in the face and back of the head. But his criminal record shows these cases have been dismissed since.

In 2011 Mayweather was sentenced to 90 days in jail for a misdemeanor related to domestic violence, but he was released after only 60 days. The mother of three of his children reported Mayweather hit her in the back of the head, pulled her off the couch by her hair and threatened to kill her. He has allegedly beaten his current girlfriend in front of their son. Mayweather responded to the accusations saying, “she over-exaggerated” and “trumped up” what happened. But his 10-year-old son wrote a statement to police saying he saw his dad repeatedly hitting his mom. When asked for a comment he replied, “I’m still waiting to see photos,” as if that’s the only way to prove a woman was beaten.

Switching sides, McGregor has a history of making racist comments towards his opponents. Recently, McGregor caused a controversy by telling Mayweather to “dance for me, boy,” which many perceived as racist. But even if we gave him the benefit of the doubt with that comment, he continued by saying, “Do they not know I’m half-black? Yeah. I’m half-black from the belly button down,” and humped the air while saying he had “a little present for my beautiful black female fans.” McGregor has also been reported saying derogatory comments about Mayweather’s daughters and wife.

To me, the second comment is plain disgusting. Disrespecting black women like that gives all the people who praise him an excuse to think that’s okay. McGregor also has a history of racist comments towards other fighters, telling Brazilian fighter Jose Aldo, “I own this town, I own Rio de Janeiro. I would invade his favela on horseback and would kill anyone who wasn’t fit to work, but we’re in a new time, so I’ll just whoop his ass instead.” In 2016, McGregor called Nate Diaz a “cholo gangster from the hood.”

How do we let these men get away with these actions? And furthermore, how do we reward them with millions of dollars? This is hurtful to our society. In just a few weeks, people from all over the world will travel to Las Vegas to watch these men – praise these men – and show the world “we” support these men. This fight shouldn’t be happening. There are plenty of great fighters, fighters who are also good men and women, who we should instead give our attention to.

By supporting Mayweather and McGregor, we are showing kids who can make it big in our society. I would never want my daughter to think Mayweather is someone to adore, and I would never want her to think McGregor’s words are acceptable.

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