Ken Miller, 76, a Bronx Science High School cross-country coach, was just fired for telling his female runners to “run like you’re being chased by a rapist.”

But why? What’s wrong with what he said? Oughtn’t young girls run from their would-be rapists?

Admittedly, other phrases could just easily do the motivational trick.

“Run like you’re being chased by a liberal,” comes to mind.

Or, how about: “Run like you’re being chased by an illegal immigrant.” That’s a good one, too.

But what’s wrong with telling someone to run as if a rapist were pursuing? Sounds like sound advice — and it’s hardly snarky. After all, Miller could’ve said, “Run like you’re being chased by Harvey Weinstein.” But he didn’t. He exercised restraint.

Perhaps the politically correct who thought it best to fire old man Miller secretly like rapists. Or, perhaps in this crazy-hazy upside-down world of right is wrong and wrong it cheered, some would-be rapist — some felonious just-out-of-jail rapist — might feel offended by the black shadow this casts over the raping trade, and find cause to sue.

Firing Miller, maybe, was a legal protectionist move.

Then again, maybe it was the strike of the humorless — and not on the part of the runners, who want Miller reinstated.

“It was very inappropriate and I realize now that it was the wrong way to motivate a team,” Miller said, the New York Post reported.

But truly, it’s not inappropriate. And the fact this coach issued an apology for the quip only shows how fearful a society the anti-First Amendment crowd, to include the all-tolerant left, has been able to instill.

“I was not offended at all,” said one runner.

“There is no reason he should not be with this team,” said another.

Agreed. It’s the school administrators who should be fired. After all, anyone who sees an advisement to run from a rapist with rapidity as cause for alarm is either mentally unbalanced, or — well, there is no “or.” They’re just mentally unbalanced themselves.

First appeared at The Washington Times.