This week’s past Bachelorette episode featured contestants on a group date with a number of football players, current and past, from Pittsburgh Steelers, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger, who has played in the NFL since 2004, led his team to multiple Superbowl victories and received the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2004. While The Bachelorette’s decision to host Roethlisberger as a guest on the group date was mostly attributed to his fame and success on the field, the show failed to acknowledge his personal controversies. In 2009 and 2010, two separate complaints charged Roethlisberger with sexual assault. Roethlisberger, like many other professional revered athletes, managed to escape the justice system with only minor consequences from the NFL.

In the book, Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture and What We Can Do About It, author Kate Harding discusses the 2010 rape that Roethlisberger committed at a club in Milledgeville, Georgia. Roethlisberger raped a young woman from a local university after spending the evening drinking with her and her friends. Harding explains how the situation escalated and how the woman, who she references as “Jane Doe,” resisted advances while being heavily intoxicated. Despite Jane’s friends’ efforts to intervene, Roethlisberger’s bodyguard prevented them from entering the back room and bathroom where the rape occurred. Jane Doe reported to the police and did go through the process of having a rape kit, but the case was later dropped by District Attorney Bright due to lack of evidence and Jane Doe’s decision not to pursue criminal charges because of the intrusion into her personal life. Scary enough, this was not the first time Roethlisberger sexually assaulted a woman.

Prior to the incident in Georgia, Roethlisberger raped another woman and got away with it. While staying at a Lake Tahoe hotel, Roethlisberger called Andrea Mcnulty, an executive at the hotel, to tell her that the television sound system in his room was not working. After Mcnulty checked the system, Roethlisberger blocked her from leaving and assaulted her. Despite her report, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Roethlisberger raped two women and never faced criminal charges because of his prestige and recognition. Although the NFL suspended him from playing in four games, Roethlisberger never endured any other punishment and is still held in high regard for his contributions to the Steelers.

By having Roethlisberger on The Bachelorette, the show is making a statement about sexual assault. It conveys the message that Roethlisberger is a good guy, trying to help a heart-broken woman, Jojo Fletcher (runner-up on the last season of The Bachelor and current suitor) find love with a new guy. The show does not address the violence against women or the ability of professional athletes to remain above the law and on an untouchable pedestal. Putting aside the overt misogyny of The Bachelorette and The Bachelor television series for the moment, the decision to highlight a rapist sends the message that rape is not legitimate if it’s committed by a famous person. The scrutiny that the victims endure about their assaults often deters them from pursuing a case that could drudge up unsettled emotions and criticism for accusing such high profile people. Prosecutors also do not see the benefits of dragging Roethlisberger and other athletes like him through drawn out trials that are often difficult to prove and rarely receive convictions. Therefore, Roethlisberger and other accused athletes are able to commit crimes against women with little repercussions for their actions.

Roethlisberger is just one athlete who is untouchable. Renowned boxer Mike Tyson, Florida State University former football-star and the number one pick of the 2015 NFL draft Jamies Winston, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Byrant are just a few of many professional athletes that avoided prosecution for sexual assault by hiding behind their statuses. Most professional athletes are not rapists and have never and will never commit such crimes. However, the current system protects the few men who choose to abuse their influence and take advantage of women (and sometimes men). Reputation and allegiance to teams generate a public opinion that denounces the victims and even makes them question if they had a role to play in the assault.

When athletes like Roethlisberger, who are criminals avoiding charges, make appearances in movies and television, media is upholding the norms that give these men the so-called “right” to treat women (and men) however they want. What makes Roethlisberger’s appearance on this particular show even more disturbing is the premise behind The Bachelorette and The Bachelor series. While on this season, with a woman as the suitor, men are the ones competing for the love, The Bachelorette still represents an anti-feminist viewpoint where most of the conversations and attention suitor Jojo Fletcher has is surrounding her appearance rather than any substantive meaning she may have to offer. As stated by Liam Matthews in his TV Guide article, “having a man twice accused of sexual assault on a show where a woman is the reward for winning a competition is just another disgusting reminder of the prevalence of rape culture and misogyny.” The Bachelorette and The Bachelor already stereotypically diminish women’s value by only casting attractive people who engage in primarily surface-level, single-race (usually Caucasian) relationships, based on physical attraction and ability to generate ratings. The new Lifetime scripted series, UnReal, demonstrates how shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are heavily influenced by producers and are not often as genuine as they appear. Portraying Roethlisberger as a football hero and a gentleman only further reinforces that violence is acceptable and can be ignored if the perpetrator is famous through other contributions.

The recent media attention about the Stanford rape committed by all-star swimmer Brock Turner has started to change the way society views sexual assault. The victim’s 13-page letter allowed the public to gain insight into the toll the incident has had on her life and how her fight for justice will never compensate for the violation of her body. While the fact that there were witnesses to the act and that the victim was so open about the crime did contribute to the prosecution and eventual conviction of Turner, the shifting perspective about protecting athletes from crimes is a still significant step in the right direction towards justice.

Rape is never acceptable and is never the victim’s fault. No one, including professional athletes, has the right to take away a person’s right to his or her body. By not holding these men accountable for violence, American society and the justice system are ultimately denying people of their rights to autonomy. It is already incredibly challenging for rape victims to prosecute the crime and even more challenging for the trials to result in a conviction. The victims of professional athletes’ sexual assaults struggle even more because of the public attention. No longer can we allow the status of a man to determine whether or not he is guilty of committing a crime. We must stand up for justice and human rights no matter the perpetrator.