Wyche Defends His Closed-Door Policy : Pro football: Bengal coach says female sportswriters should not be allowed in locker rooms.

Sounding weary but still willing to fight, Cincinnati Bengal Coach Sam Wyche Wednesday continued his one-man campaign to keep female sportswriters away from naked players in the locker room.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Wyche, whose team will play the Rams Sunday, defended his decision to bar a female reporter from the Bengals’ locker room after Monday’s loss in Seattle and proposed other methods for them to do their jobs.

And in the midst of the furor created by that action, plus the alleged sexual harassment of another female reporter by Patriot players last month, Wyche painted himself as a lonely voice of reason bringing out an issue ignored for too long.

“Has the whole world gone completely mad?” Wyche said. “Does it seem strange to you that this is the only industry that you ask someone of one gender to stand stark naked while a member of another gender performs their job? Is it out of line to say, ‘Wait a minute. Wait until I get my pants on’? I don’t think so.”

Wyche, who has been punished by the league at least once before for shutting his locker room and is expected to be fined by Commissioner Paul Tagliabue for violating its equal access rule, said he moved to bar the woman, USA Today’s Denise Tom, after reading a memo from Tagliabue in the wake of the Patriot episode reminding teams that women must get equal interview room time.

Wyche, saying he was following the wishes of his players, said he made sure Tom had quick interview access to him and quarterback Boomer Esiason as long as it was outside the locker room.

“The cold, hard facts are that there are 50 naked men . . . lathering themselves up after a hard game and then drying themselves up,” Wyche said.

“There’s a line of sight into the shower room. You cannot avoid looking at this scene. . . . There’s got to be a better alternative.”

Wyche said that Sunday, after playing the Rams, he will go to what he called Plan B--asking his players to stay dressed immediately after the game, open his team’s locker room to all reporters immediately after the game for 20 minutes, then close it while his players shower before opening it back up.

Wyche believes that once Tagliabue, who has expressed concern about the affair, examines the facts of the matter, no fine will be levied.

“I think the commissioner will look at this like I have and say, ‘You know, daggum it, he’s right. I would never allow a woman to walk into my office while I’m nude.’ ”