University of Colorado coach Gary Barnett was suspended with pay for his comments regarding a female placekicker on his team. Barnett’s comments about Katie Hnida, the first woman to play in Division I college football, were insensitive and a bit crass in light of the fact Hnida has come forward with the revelation she was raped by one of her UC teammates. But should he have been suspended?

Rape is a hideous crime and I truly believe that anyone convicted of the offense should receive the maximum sentence and then put directly into the general population at a maximum-security correctional institution. It is told that the "forces that be” within any given general prison population don’t care too much for rapists and child molesters. I suppose there is some sort of honor among thieves to that extent. But the alleged rape, which Hnida is refused to have prosecuted, is not at the center of the controversy regarding Barnett. What is at the center of the controversy is insensitivity and political correctness.

Now, I will be the first to admit that Barnett’s comments were rather rude in light of the allegations being made against one of his players. He could have come out with a much more appropriate statement. But as a college football coach why is it that Barnett cannot have an opinion about Hnida’s quality of performance? After all, that is what he was really talking about.

Barnett was quoted as saying, that Hnida was a "distraction" for the team and a player whose ability didn’t rise to that of Division I football. "It's a guy's sport, and they felt like Katie was forced on them," Barnett said. "It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful. You know what guys do, they respect your ability. I mean you can be 90 years old, but if you can go out and play, they respect you. Well, Katie was a girl. Not only was she a girl, she was terrible. And there's no other way to say it. She couldn't kick the ball through the uprights," Barnett said in the offending statement.

Now I have been reading for a long time, listening for even longer, and I cannot recognize anything in Barnett’s statement that addresses Hnida’s rape allegations. The only thing that I take away from Barnett’s statement is that he, as the coach of the University of Colorado football team, allowed Hnida to remain on the team, giving her an opportunity to participate, even though she was an inferior player. Were these statements insensitive in light of Hnida’s current situation? I suppose, but since when did insensitivity mean you weren’t doing the job you were hired to do? If sensitivity were a quality required for college football coaches we never would have seen the likes of Woody Hayes or Bear Bryant!

Barnett was hired to mentor a college football team so they would achieve the highest levels in any and all of the NCAA college football contests they participated in. Along the way the University of Colorado reaps enormous benefits by way of television endorsements and stipends, in that respect Barnett has been an amazing asset to an otherwise "out of the spotlight” university. He even acted honorably in allowing Ms. Hnida the opportunity to participate at such an advanced level. To say the least, Barnett is one of the most respected coaches in all of college football and in this instance he is exposed as someone willing to give even an inferior player an honest chance.

U of C’s President Elizabeth Hoffman is absolutely out of bounds in her decision to suspend Coach Barnett. Should Barnett have been taken aside and talked to? Probably, and he did issue a clarification saying that his comments were taken out of context, which I would be inclined to believe given the sensationalized nature of the mainstream media today. He even voiced his support for Katie Hnida. But his suspension mandates that political correctness be adhered to at all times when in the employ of the University of Colorado. I believe Ms. Hoffman would be hard pressed to point out the "political correctness clause” in Barnett’s contract.

While I sympathize with Ms. Hnida’s situation and would urge her to press charges and follow the path of legal recourse, sentencing Gary Barnett to political correctness is cruel and unusual punishment, especially for a football coach. I am surprised the ACLU isn’t burning up the phone lines between their Colorado offices and Coach Barnett’s residence. Then again, this is about their pet cause, political correctness. It’s fourth and long, coach, I suggest you punt.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He served as an editor and is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch. He writes regularly for GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.