For those who follow college football, particularly fans of the Florida State Seminoles, this last week has been one to cause much shaking of heads. The crime and the punishment are enough to make even the most diehard ‘Noles fans just throw their hands up (the author included). But even more disturbing is the Leftist reaction in many circles to Jameis Winston and his juvenile outburst.

For those who have recently been living under a rock under the bleachers instead of cheering from them, the extremely talented and off-the-field problem-prone Jameis Winston, Heisman Trophy winner and Quarterback for Florida State, stuck his foot in it again this past week. Forget the alleged sexual assault, the BB gun issue, the alleged stealing of soda or forgetting to pay for seafood. This time he did the unthinkable: He spoke in a loud and vulgar fashion on a college campus. He was (appropriately, the author thinks) reprimanded by being suspended for the first half of the game against Clemson, which was later extended to a full game suspension (the Noles still won) and that, should more or less be that.

For the record, there’s no real excuse for Winston in this case. Although only a few people were present to witness the incident, and to date, no video or audio footage exists, it seems pretty clear (and pretty believable) that he did shout out a vulgar comment that dealt with the female anatomy. This is college in 2014 and, however distasteful statements like that are, they are also the norm across the spectrum of young people in this country, on college campuses or not. That is not a defense of his statements, but it does serve to put them in the proper context.

More importantly, there are some points to consider given the backlash to this whole incident.

Firstly, to reiterate, there is no excuse. Grow up, Jameis. Many fans of the Seminoles, and even those who are just fans of your athletic ability, expect more from you. Yes, you are young, but that as an excuse is something that you have burned through in the last year. It is time for you to make a conscious and dedicated effort to mature your inner self to the same level you have honed your athletic talent. Get on it.

Secondly, what Jameis said was not, by technical definition, misogynistic. In this day and age, anything that can be remotely construed as a statement less than positive towards a female is denounced as misogynistic and part of the “war on women.” That defies, among other things, the dictionary.

Misogynistic: reflecting or exhibiting hatred, dislike, mistrust, or mistreatment of women

There is wiggle room in interpretation, but Jameis’ statements really don’t reflect hatred, dislike or mistrust. Arguably they do reflect mistreatment, but even that is subjective. Given the state of the vernacular on college campuses, any female that heard his shout almost certainly has to have heard a dozen (or more) worse things that day.  A better definition for what Jameis did is vulgar.

Vulgar: Indecent, obscene, lewd, coarse, unrefined

All of that fits much better and there is absolutely no dispute that what he said was all of those things. The word “misogynist” makes such better headlines, though. Alas.

Thirdly, the biggest cries of “misogyny” and the like are, no surprise, coming from the American left. And here is where the hypocrisy also manages to insert itself into the situation. It is the Left who posits itself as the champion of freedom of speech. For that side of the political spectrum, Larry Flynt’s Hustler is merely artistic expression, and vulgarity (whether in print or speech format) deserves protection…unless it might offend one of their base constituencies, I suppose. While everyone might agree that free speech that leads to something dangerous might be susceptible to censorship, like ‘crying “Fire!” in a crowded theater, Jameis’ statements cannot be construed as rising to that level.

One liberal (male) friend even went so far as to apologize for his gender. The liberal hubris never ceases to amaze. Not unlike Chris Matthews recently attempting to apologize on behalf of the white race, this is pompous and self-serving, and has no basis in reality. The attempt to lift a singular incident into the realm of a gender war might get good ratings, and might even score some points with the “YesAllWoman” crowd, but it is plainly illogical and serves no ultimately positive purpose.

Jameis messed up, Jameis got punished and, as befits his spotlight status (and all the previous mess-ups) he will be even more under the microscope now than he was before. This incident should be instructive, but it should not start the slippery slope into a “war on women” discussion, or be made in any way into a mountain from the molehill that it really is. On some of these issues, many people in America, not just Jameis Winston, need to grow up and start dealing like adults.