Lewis denied in petition to attend Ravens minicamp

ATLANTA -- Jamal Lewis' request to attend the Baltimore Ravens' minicamp next week has been denied by the Atlanta halfway house where he is spending two months after a prison term for a federal drug conviction.

The rules of the star running back's stay at the halfway house say he can only leave for work in northern Georgia, which would prevent him from traveling to Maryland to attend the workouts, which begin June 13.

"If that's the rules, that's the rules," said his lawyer, Jerome Froelich. "We weren't looking for any favors. He was hoping they would make an exception. He's going to follow whatever rules they set."

A spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said the U.S. Probation Office oversees such petitions. A supervisor in the U.S. Probation Office in Atlanta declined to comment on Lewis' case.

Lewis entered the halfway house Friday after serving four months at a federal prison camp in Florida.

Lewis pleaded guilty last October in federal court in Atlanta to using a cell phone to try to set up a drug deal in 2000, shortly after the Ravens picked him fifth overall in the NFL draft.

Lewis is scheduled to remain at the halfway house until the first week of August, when the team's training camp begins.