We need to talk, but not about Chris Paul

Finally, my three passions in life collide: the NBA, contemporary American sexism, and offended people on the internet!

Clips Nation's fearless leader wrote a good recap of the event in question, and in my opinion did a nice job of it. But it's really not the point.

Before we get started here, I'd like to make three things extraordinarily, crystalline, beautifully clear:

• I do not think Chris Paul is a sexist.
• I do not think Chris Paul's comments were motivated by gender.
• I do think there is a problem here.

In Lauren Holtkamp's mind, Chris Paul earned that technical foul. In Chris Paul's mind, he did not, and he told the media as much afterward. This is a tale as old as the National Basketball Association itself--something the league has decided to deal with by subjecting players and coaches who criticize the officiating and/or a particular official to a fine. Chris Paul will (and should) get fined the appropriate amount for his comments regarding Holtkamp.

But for some reason, everyone is mad. Some people are mad because they think Chris Paul's criticism of Holtkamp is because she is a woman in an extraordinarily male dominated field. Misogyny! Some people are even actually mad at Holtkamp because she is a "dumb bitch," "ice queen," and my favorite--a "whore" because of the way she officiates the game (those are actual posts I've seen by actual people--but won't link to them for obvious reasons). More misogyny! And, some people are mad because they think this whole thing is blown out of proportion and made into a controversy by the media on a "slow news day." Secret misogyny? The point is, everyone is mad. But no one seems to be mad for any good reason.

The problem is not that Holtkamp made a call. The problem is not that Paul reacted to that call. The problem is not even in the public's (or the Internet's) reaction to that event.

The problem is that maybe this isn't for her.

Nothing is for her. The wage gap sure ain't for her, the statistics on rape and sexual assault in America are not for her, and neither are deaths resulting from domestic violence, transmisogyny, and homophobia. There's your misogyny, people, and there's plenty of it to go around.

So if you want to be mad, be mad. There is a lot to be mad about. But if you're mad about something having to do with Lauren Holtkamp and Chris Paul, educate yourself and get mad about something that matters.