OUTTA BOTTE EXPERIENCE

Nevertheless, she persisted. Those words became something of a battle cry earlier this month after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell invoked them over Senate Republicans silencing Sen. Elizabeth Warren while she was making a speech during attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearings.

These words immediately came to mind on Thursday morning, one day after Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston mindlessly made what he later at least acknowledged was a “poor word choice” during a speaking engagement at a Tampa elementary school in which he told boys to stand up and the girls to remain seated while proceeding to make stereotypical generalizations about gender roles.

There’s no doubt that Winston initially was well-intentioned in addressing the group of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg, with the primary message of the importance of believing you can accomplish anything in life.

But Winston’s speech took a horribly disappointing and inexcusable turn when he noticed a group of boys not paying attention to him.

“All my young boys, stand up. The ladies, sit down,” Winston said. “But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? All my boys, tell me one time: I can do anything I put my mind to. Now a lot of boys aren’t supposed to be soft-spoken. You know what I’m saying? One day y’all are going to have a very deep voice like this. One day, you’ll have a very, very deep voice.

“But the ladies, they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men (are) supposed to be strong. I want y’all to tell me what the third rule of life is: I can do anything I put my mind to. Scream it!”

Oh, people surely are screaming this morning, and rightfully so, but certainly not over the “I can do anything” part of that message.

Winston is 23 years old, and maybe he didn’t really mean it that way, but his tarnished past involving women and his position of prominence in that community only underscore how much his words matter, particularly when addressing children.

It’s heartrending to think that those young girls came away with the impression that they somehow are less important or should feel subordinate or passive as compared to the boys in any manner after hearing Winston’s words.

One girl reportedly even told a teacher “I’m strong, too,” as speech pathologist Bonnie Volland later told the Tampa Bay Times.

It’s also distressing that the boys in the room heard that outmoded opinion, only reaffirming such disgusting stereotypes, at a time when women still are fighting for gender equality in terms of workplace pay, respect, and so forth. Be silent? Never. Winston settled a civil suit with a woman who accused him of rape, but was never officially charged with a crime, while at Florida State. He was suspended for a 2014 game with the Seminoles for standing up on a cafeteria table and yelling obscenities about women. He needs to realize once and for all how irresponsible and damaging such comments as the ones he made on Wednesday can be.

And he still needs to issue more of a detailed apology than his brief explanation when reached later Wednesday by the Tampa Bay Times.

“I was making an effort to interact with a young male in the audience who didn’t seem to be paying attention, and I didn’t want to single him out so I asked all the boys to stand up,” Winston told the paper a few hours after his appearance. “During my talk, I used a poor word choice that may have overshadowed that positive message for some.”

If this is the case, he could have asked all the kids to stand up, not just the boys.

Was it simply a poor choice of words? Perhaps.

But Winston and other athletes must realize the importance and weight of their words, particularly when children are involved.

Or perhaps he simply is the one who should remain silent.

Following Sammy Sosa’s bizarre blog quotes earlier this week comparing himself to Jesus Christ and saying he “put Chicago on the map,” the Chicago Tribune cited sources Thursday saying the Ricketts family and the Cubs organization have “closed the door” on a reconciliation with the PEDtainted slugger.

Then again, what would you have said if I told you three years ago — when he was suing everyone — that A-Rod would be such a beloved and welcomed member of the Yankees’ family?

l Speaking of unexpected turnarounds, the Islanders rose from last place in the NHL to the No. 8 playoff position in the Eastern Conference in barely a month’s time entering Thursday’s action.

Even if they still miss the playoffs, I admittedly didn’t see that coming.

l So, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie officially is a candidate now to replace Mike Francesa on WFAN.

ChristieCon just doesn’t have the same ring to it, but I’m already looking forward to the parody Twitter accounts.