SPORTS WATCH : Raw Treatment

What’s all this brouhaha about whether a woman sports reporter should be allowed in the locker room? The Cincinnati Bengals coach barred a woman reporter for USA Today Monday night. That old issue--a matter of equity and access--was resolved years ago by court decisions and NFL policy.

Like the other sports reporters, Denise Tom of USA Today and Lisa Olson, a reporter for the Boston Herald, were just trying to do their jobs. Olson got more than the quotes she was after in the locker room of the New England Patriots a couple of weeks back. She says that she was sexually harassed by several nude football players.

The Patriots’ owner, Victor Kiam, initially excused such cowardly bullying and reportedly piled his own insults on Olson. Kiam further told another reporter he did not “disagree with the players’ actions.” He finally apologized--but only after the resulting furor refused to abate and women who may not give a hoot about a touchdown but care passionately about equality threatened to boycott products made by his Remington electric razor company.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who was also slow to react, has appointed a Harvard law professor to investigate the matter. It should never have gotten this far. Sports reporters have a job to do.

If athletes don’t want reporters in the locker room, then the players should come out before they start undressing to answer questions. Equal access is the major issue here. But these days, all of football could use a large dose of civility.