THE SIDELINES : Japan Snubs Lewis for Hiding Logo

Olympic champion Carl Lewis will not be invited to compete in Japan because he covered up a sponsor’s name at a meet in Tokyo in May, the Japan Amateur Athletic Federation told its American counterpart.

In a news release today, The Athletic Congress, the governing body for track and field in the United States, said it had received a letter from Hiraoki Chosa, managing director of the Japanese federation. The letter has been forwarded to Lewis’ agent, Joe Douglas of the Santa Monica Track Club, the conference said.

The Japanese decision stems from an incident on May 14 in which Lewis, according to the federation, covered a sponsor’s name printed on the identifying number worn on his uniform.

“We . . . will express a strong complaint against his deed at the competition, and we have decided not to invite Carl Lewis for the time being to our international meets in Japan,” Chosa wrote in the letter to Douglas.

He said Lewis could compete in Japan only as a member of a U.S. international team.