There’s no easy way to deal with rape charges. Once they’ve been aired, the accused are usually pilloried, and truth takes a backseat to seamy details. Think of the Kobe Bryant case, where the NBA posterboy became a shamed exile overnight when word of the rape allegation leaked.

No one in the Colorado football program has been charged yet, but the current running total of six rape accusations since 1999 — on top of the Boulder County district attorney’s allegations that Colorado lured recruits in with sex and booze — has pundits nationwide calling for the football program to be given the death penalty. No wonder, then, that Colorado football head coach Gary Barnett might be frustrated and a little at loss at how to respond.

But there is no excuse for the comments Barnett made last Tuesday in regards to Colorado former place-kicker Katie Hnida who claims to have been raped by a teammate in 2000.

He responded to a reporter’s question about Hnida’s abilities by saying, “She was awful … Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible. OK? There’s no other way to say it.”

The next day Barnett apologized and admitted that he “must have come across as insensitive.” So he gets points for hindsight. And to be fair, he wasn’t trying to discredit the truthfulness of Hnida’s accusations with his insults. But his hostile words only underscore what Colorado’s accusers have been saying all along: that the program has a culture of viewing women as sex objects — or worse.

Think of Barnett’s “she’s just a girl” remarks in the context of another woman accusing Barnett of saying he “would back his player 100 percent” if she tried to file rape charges.

A man who sees being female as a mark of shame when it comes to football may not have a much better view of women when it comes to rape controversy.

The sad part is that Barnett and his players could be absolute angels, but with a few idiotic comments, he has given his opponents unlimited ammunition to shoot down the program. This is why Colorado was right in suspending him.

Some of Barnett’s backers may say it’s unfair for Barnett to be punished for having a big, untrained mouth.

But the alternative — leaving him in his place — is a no-win situation. If the rape allegations prove to be true, then the program will be killed.

If they are shown to be false, the fact the Colorado administration turned a blind eye to the severity of Barnett’s comments will be little assurance to the accusers that justice was actually pursued.