NFL NOTES : Teams Cleared to Sign 3 to 5 ‘Practice Players’

A federal judge in Washington today cleared the way for NFL teams to sign from three to five “practice players” a week for the season, settling part of a suit over last year’s reserve squad.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth approved the agreement between players and the league. A lawyer for the players said teams could begin signing players beginning this afternoon.

The agreement, approved by owners Tuesday, allows each team to keep from three to five inactive players at a minimum salary of at least $3,000 a week.

The suit, seeking $30 million in damages for players who were on the so-called developmental squads in 1989, remains alive.

“These claims and the defenses are being vigorously litigated before Judge Lamberth,” said Joseph A. Yablonski, the attorney representing the handful of players who filed suit.

Lamberth tentatively approved the agreement and set a hearing for Oct. 15 on the suit and final approval will likely be routine then.

The settlement is one of the first labor agreements in pro football since the 1987 strike. The league has not had a collective bargaining agreement with players since then and the National Football League Players Assn. has had itself decertified as the players’ bargaining representative.

The teams voted to abolish the reserve squads earlier this year because of the suit.

An ugly locker room incident involving several naked New England Patriots players and Boston Herald sportswriter Lisa Olson has mushroomed into a major-league embarrassment and a call for a boycott against razor king Victor Kiam, the football team’s owner.

Kiam bowed to public pressure and apologized Tuesday for his inflammatory remarks and the sexual harassment of Lisa Olson in the team’s locker room. Earlier in the day Kiam had withheld an apology, saying he didn’t know the circumstances of the incident well enough.

Olson was not mollified.

“How can I accept his apology after he questioned my professionalism in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers?” she said in a statement.

New England’s players are expected to present a team letter of apology to Olson today. A team official said the players formed a committee to draft the letter.

The Herald planned to publish an editorial urging consumers to boycott Remington, staff members said.

The Denver Broncos today cut linebacker Jeroy Robinson and added running back Kerry Porter to the team roster.