The report was critical of the Patriots' management, saying that no team official had intervened to defend Olson and that the team had failed to take any action before, during or immediately after the incident in trying to find the truth.

Actually, the report indicated that the situation could have been avoided entirely. Two Patriots had complained earlier to James Oldham, the team's director of media relations, and to Patrick Sullivan, the team's general manager, that they believed Olson was, in the players' words, "a looker," someone who stood around the locker room not interviewing anyone.

"Sullivan then watched Olson in the locker room," the report said, referring to Sept. 16, after New England had beaten Indianapolis by 16-14. "It appeared to him that she was just waiting for someone and was involved in perfectly normal reporting actions. He concluded nothing needed to be done. Neither Oldham nor Sullivan ever reported back to the players who had complained about Olson. Potentially incendiary rumors were left to explode in the locker room on Sept. 17."

Half of the organization's fine, $25,000, will be used for supplemental material for all N.F.L. personnel on responsible dealings with the news media, the league said.

Bob Sales, sports editor of The Boston Herald, said yesterday: "The report supports what Lisa said all along. Sanctions are fine. Who knows what's fair? But certainly, the organization and those players have gone through a public humiliation in this report and that is a high price. Let's hope they are the wiser for it."

Ellen Zucker, speaking for the Boston chapter of the National Organization for Women, said the group was pleased with "the tone and basic content" of the report, but added, "but we do not believe that the fine levied on the players or on the team's management fully reflects the severity of the misconduct."

Although Tagliabue said in his letter to Kiam that the Patriots' management failed to comply with the league's policy on news-media access, he credited Kiam and the head coach, Rod Rust, for their cooperation in the investigation.