Lewis Says Drug Use Was Ignored by Authorities

Carl Lewis assailed American track and field authorities Thursday, contending they ignore and sometimes shield athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs.

“There’s no question in my mind that they have more knowledge about the drug problem than they are telling the public,” said Lewis in a telephone call from Houston. “In some cases, they have overlooked and even tried to protect the athletes.”

Lewis spoke in the wake of disclosures that distance runner Mary Slaney was under investigation for excessive levels of testosterone in a test at the Olympic trials in Atlanta.

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Makoto Kobayshi, the director general of the organizing committee for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, said the starting point of the men’s Olympic downhill course will remain at 5,493 feet, the shortest in history.

Jurisprudence

A woman who insisted that police investigate her complaint that NBC sportscaster Marv Albert bit her up to 15 times and forced her to perform oral sex is facing a criminal charge herself, a TV station reported.

The woman is facing a charge that she threatened to kill her former boyfriend, according to court records obtained by WRC-TV of Washington.

Albert, NBC’s lead announcer on NBA games, was indicted Monday on charges of forcible sodomy and assault. If convicted on the sodomy charge, Albert could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

The report by WRC-TV said the woman called her former boyfriend on March 13, a month after the alleged incident involving Albert, and threatened to kill the ex-boyfriend, “his dog and any girl he may be with.”

Tennis

Top-ranked Pete Sampras pulled out of the World Team Cup at Duesseldorf, Germany because of a muscle injury, but said he expects to be fit for the French Open, which starts Monday in Paris. The U.S. still defeated Croatia, 2-1. The French Open did lose Jennifer Capriati, who withdrew because of an ankle injury.

Top-seeded Thomas Muster avoided upset at the Raifeissen Grand Prix at St. Poelten, Austria by defeated Argentina’s Hernan Gumy, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, to move into the quarterfinals. . . . Monica Seles breezed to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Maria Antonia Sanchez of Spain in the second round of the Yellow Pages Open at Madrid.. . . . Third-seeded Amanda Coetzer of South Africa and unseeded Sabine Appelmans of Belgium won the only matches played before rain forced postponement of the rest of the Strasbourg (France) Open.

Miscellany

Geoff Bodine was knocked unconscious briefly in a crash during practice at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Winston Cup race but avoided serious injury. . . . Julius Erving and Joe Washington announced they are giving NASCAR’s Winston Cup series its first minority-owned full-time racing team in 25 years by forming Washington Erving Motorsports.

The investigation into possible irregularities in the Cincinnati basketball program now involves at least one other player besides forward Charles Williams, a newspaper reported. The Cincinnati Enquirer, citing unnamed sources, reported that lawyers hired by the university to investigate Williams also have interviewed Ruben Patterson. . . . Arizona leads the team standings and San Jose State’s Janice Moodie is the top individual after the first round of the NCAA Division I women’s golf tournament at Upper Arlington, Ohio. . . . Baylor women’s coach Sonja Hogg interviewed for the American Basketball League’s Long Beach coaching job. . . . The San Diego Chargers signed tight end Freddie Jones, its top pick, to a three-year contract. . . . Former Jacksonville State University football coach Bill Burgess has filed a lawsuit against the university and its president, claiming he was wrongfully fired.