Olympic track and field legend Carl Lewis is the latest person to accuse New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of political tactics that some may view as bullying.

The nine-time gold medalist said the Republican governor threatened to cancel a plan to make Lewis the state’s first physical fitness ambassador because of the athlete’s campaign for a seat in the New Jersey Senate as a Democrat.

“I thought it was going just fine,” Lewis said of the fitness program. “And when I started to run, when he talked to me on the phone that night, he said, ‘If you run, we’re going to have to cancel the program.’”

Lewis -- who in 2011 tried to run against Republican incumbent Dawn Addiego, reportedly a friend of Christie’s -- eventually withdrew from the Senate race when a court determined he didn’t meet a residency requirement.


Some people have characterized Christie as a political bully in the midst of recent scandals involving traffic jams and Superstorm Sandy aid. Lewis said he doesn’t feel the governor is a bully, just “someone who’s insecure, and he’s governor now and has got the power.”

“I felt like he was trying to intimidate me, absolutely,” Lewis said. “But I definitely didn’t feel intimidated.”