America’s righteous indignation machine is revving on all cylinders this week. Shaming anyone and everyone it can in order to make itself feel morally superior.

Some of it is deserved.

It all got started this weekend when tapes came out of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks in a phone conversation with his mistress.

The machine hit Sterling hard, even if those who have paid attention have known him as a racist, bigoted slumlord for years. The newness of the remarks, mixed with the Internet age, demanded immediate action. That happened when new NBA commisioner Adam Silver did what his predecessor should have done long before and banned Sterling for life.

But, the criticism wasn’t just on Sterling. There was criticism of his mistress for taping him illegally and sending the tapes to the media. There was criticism of his wife for suing his mistress, who then was forced to tape Sterling and give the tapes to the media. There was criticism of the NBA for not doing something sooner, and of the players for not reacting immediately or not taking a bigger stand against the statements.

And through it all, that was a situation that at least demanded criticism, if not to the level that it received.

Then comes Wednesday. Palate wet with the taste of blood, America’s sports fans got back to their favorite moral high ground. Shaming college students.

News came out in the morning about Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston getting a citation in Florida for shoplifting high-end produce from a supermarket.

For some reason, that news drew near equal vigor in the absence of yelling about something serious.  

Mind you, shoplifting is serious, in its own way. Stealing should not be condoned, especially by those in the limelight. But, to draw the line between thrifting $32 in crab legs and crawfish and a guy’s ability to play professional football is a big leap.

Winston is a college student. College students, even famous ones, do stupid things. At 20 years old, he’s going to do stupid things. That’s what being 20 is about.

Is it right? No. But a suspension from the baseball team, a couple hard football practices and punishment from the police is plenty to bring down on him.

This has nothing to do with not being paid as a college football player or his sense of self-entitlement. Nearly every 20-year-old who has attended college has a very large sense of self-entitlement.

This won’t cost him “draft stock,” the mythical idea that creeps up whenever there’s a scandal. He likely doesn’t think himself, “bigger than the team,” or worse, “above the law.” This is not the seedling clues of a serial burglar or a future supervillain.

If anything, it’s a hint that he’s normal. In addition to being a one-of-a-kind athlete, he’s also young and dumb. Not necessarily dumb academically as much as uneducated in life’s circumstances.

It’s mistakes like these that fix problems down the road, not just the pseudo-professionalism of staying out of trouble.

The same off-season indignation came down on Winston’s Heisman predecessor Johnny Manziel. We learned that Manziel wasn’t a selfish brat intent on burying his team to his benefit, yet instead a young college student unaware of his action’s consequences. After an off-season of parties and appearances capped by accusations of bad attitude, he had another fantastic season and entered the off-season as a top NFL prospect.

The same is likely true of Winston. He isn’t a perfect human-being or even necessarily a virtuous one.

If this week of scandal can teach us anything it’s perspective. Sterling and his ilk deserve all the ire that come their way. Grown men can’t hide behind ignorance as an excuse. Young people being ignorant is likely because they haven’t learned different.

As a society, even when emotions are running high, we should save the moral high horse for those that truly deserve it.

Joseph Terry is a sports reporter and columnist for the Daily Inter Lake. He can be reached by phone at 758-4463 or by email at jterry@dailyinterlake.com.