I’m not a woman who watches football for fun. I mostly just watch when I’m high, and then start thinking of other things—of gods and men and war, how games are modern-day battles, with strength and grit all on glorious display, like Grecian epics (or tragedies, in the case of last night’s Buccaneer’s kicker, who couldn’t make the field goals that would have altered the outcome of the game).

In my slightly stoned state, I began comparing the rampant concussions in the NFL to ancient fighting pits, warrior against warrior, teams of soldiers battling before throngs of blood-thirsty fans, hungry for victory but hungrier still for their enemy’s defeat.

It’s such a guy thing, I thought. War. Sports. I can only seem to get into the game when I imagine it to be something else, when I ascribe some meaning that probably doesn’t exist.

But then again, how could there not be meaning to such a large and lucrative pastime? It means something when its players take a stand against injustice and shine their spotlight on issues bigger than themselves.

Maybe that’s what snapped me out of my stoner reverie and put me firmly on my high horse of indignation. I had just finished watching Cam Newton’s apology—heartfelt, sincere, beautiful—when I turned to my husband.

“Was what he said really that bad,” I asked, not yet knowing the details of his press conference remark, in which he said—sounding quite stoned himself—“It’s funny, to hear a female talk about… routes.”

I ignored the rest of the game and instead focused on the reporter, Jourdan Rodrigue, the Abigail Fisher of the Charlotte Observer, a woman who once Tweeted of her father, “He’s the best. Racist jokes the whole drive home,” but couldn’t quite stomach the condescension of Cam Newton’s remark, especially after confronting him and not getting an apology.

Such grievous offenses will not go unpunished! (As Dannon yogurt reminded Newton when they yanked their endorsement deal.) Just imagine if he’d said he wanted to grab her by the pussy! Oh wait…

We know the NFL doesn’t give a shit about women. But it seems to care quite deeply about the cheap, intellectually lazy power politics of a white woman scorned.