Q+a [carl Lewis]

Lewis: People have a moral standard about what they will do and will not do. At the end of the day someone who cheats has a lower moral standard than someone who does not. And they will cheat in other areas of life as well. But some of these athletes would never get into that situation if a coach didn't have a strong influence over them. Ben Johnson would not have gotten on drugs without a Charlie Francis. So why don't we go after the coaches, too? [ Francis] is still hanging around. This guy should be out of the sport completely.

SI: Why is the 100-meter dash so popular?

Lewis: Because everyone can finish it, and everyone at some point has raced to see who was the fastest.

SI: It wouldn't be a Carl Lewis interview if we didn't try to coax you into taking another shot at singing the national anthem.

Lewis: [Laughs.] It used to drive me crazy, getting ragged about that. But I'm in Hollywood now. Any press is good press. So keep on ragging me.