Doper Dennis Mitchell is again US relay coach

I feel the hand of someone skilled at conflict resolution is mixing this batch of USATF pablum.

America should be banned along with Russia

I'm more surprised that he keeps 'coaching' the team despite the hits it must be taking to his reputaiton. I suspect its a Gatlin thing.

If you didn't have a relays coach at all and just let the athletes coach themselves with the aid of video review, you'd probably get at least the same results as Mitchell has. Therefore, he brings no value to the position and, given his doping issue, he is a negative. Is it a racial thing? Fine. There are plenty of African-Americans who could coach this to better results, so hire one of them.

IT IS WRONG

WHY ARENT PEOPLE PISSED OFF

I have called USATF and expressed my frustration of not only having a Drug cheat as your Olympic coach , but also now there is a specific rule prohibiting his ability to be Olympic coach , and yet USATF chooses to ignore that to fulfill their own selfish gain !!!

PLEASE

communicate w them and express what the US expects from our Olympians and our governing body !!!

I'm going to continue to speak my frustration w upper management on this directory list !

please join in and make your position known as well !!!

USATF National Office

USA Track & Field 132 East Washington Street, Suite 800 Indianapolis, IN 46204

317-261-0500 (phone)

dirrectory link

http://www.usatf.org/about/directory/index.asp

full dirrectory

http://www.usatf.org/about/directory/info.asp?parent=&group=National%20Office

coach d wrote:

I can't believe that somebody coaching at Texas A&M, Texas, Florida, or USC would not be willing to coach the relay team. But, then, that person would not be a friend of Stephanie.

The relay coach doesn't just show up at the Olympics. There are commitments throughout the year that conflict with the collegiate season. The odds of finding a good, active, college coach to take the job are slim. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

He is a fat head, needs his head in a vice if you ask me.

What about his wife beating allegations, have these gone from people's memories. It's such a disappointing appointment.

polevaultpower wrote:

coach d wrote:

I can't believe that somebody coaching at Texas A&M, Texas, Florida, or USC would not be willing to coach the relay team. But, then, that person would not be a friend of Stephanie.

The relay coach doesn't just show up at the Olympics. There are commitments throughout the year that conflict with the collegiate season. The odds of finding a good, active, college coach to take the job are slim. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

You seem not connected with college coaching in any way, because college coaches DO this kind of thing, particularly assistants on their way up. I know that Caryl Smith-Gilbert was an international assistant for USA several times before getting her first head position, including at the 2007 World Championships. Clyde Hart was an assistant at the 2000 Olympics.

Did they talk to a guy like Vince Anderson? I seriously doubt that if USATF had contacted the 4X100 finals teams at the NCAA D1/D2 Championships last year that they would not find a single assistant to help them out. I mean, passing the baton is not exactly an unknown skill (except to those coaches USATF picks?); I'll bet Michael Norman's high school coach at Vista Murieta could and would do this. But as I said above, there is a personal connection between Stephanie and Dennis Mitchell, and my understanding is that the decision to extend the date of the rule that would outlaw Mitchell came from the national office.

Like Coach K for USA basketball?He's coached team USA since 2006 and done pretty well for them as well as recruiting and coaching at Duke. I agree with poster below.

polevaultpower wrote:

coach d wrote:

I can't believe that somebody coaching at Texas A&M, Texas, Florida, or USC would not be willing to coach the relay team. But, then, that person would not be a friend of Stephanie.

The relay coach doesn't just show up at the Olympics. There are commitments throughout the year that conflict with the collegiate season. The odds of finding a good, active, college coach to take the job are slim. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

polevaultpower wrote:

The relay coach doesn't just show up at the Olympics. There are commitments throughout the year that conflict with the collegiate season. The odds of finding a good, active, college coach to take the job are slim. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

There are many current college coaches coaching T&F at the Olympics including the women's head coach.

It's also not like Vin Lannana, the head men's coach, has no other commitments.

There were lots of college coaches for the 2012 Olympics also:

USATF could do much better, given Mitchell's doping past and the baton drops that keep happening over and over under his watch.

USATF and NIKE brushes us off like flies. Complain all we want, they see rampant doping in football, baseball, etc., and those are huge revenue sports. So we have no impact on their decisions.

I am trying to get a grasp on the reason for the rule about no relay coach can be selected if that coach has an athlete on the relay team. I am guessing that USATF does not want people thinking "well he only got selected because Coach is his coach". Or that a decision on who to run in the Games would be affected. It seems the bigger issue is getting the baton passed.

This is not a defense of Mitchell. As a former doper and someone who has not shown he can successfully coach a relay team, I do not think he should be the coach.

USATF is run like Hightower's personal fiefdom, for the purpose of promoting cronies and feathering one's own nest via Nike's largesse.

There are dozens of highly competent sprint coaches with proven success in the relays and we GIVE AWAY medals at the Olympics and World's every year by choosing this simultaneously incompetent and unethical coach. And yes, a coach who doped as an athlete is more likely to dope his athletes or suggest that they dope.

Letsrun employees an admitted steroid user to moderate its forum. Letsrun knows about the steroid use and hired the guy regardless. They aren't really in a position to be calling out USATF for doing the same thing.

At least he isnt raciist like that blonde girl with the birdfood bars.

If the relays get dqd its because the racialist overseers had money on another horse.

agip wrote:

cause he's so good at doping and handoffs.

Idiots

he got caught doping and his teams are horrible at passing.

USATF = morans of the highest order

http://whbl.com/news/articles/2016/apr/05/gatlin-coach-to-remain-as-us-relay-boss-for-rio/

Agip,

According to Dwight Phillips' logic, you are now a racist.

Dennis Mitchell has had his chance to produce results with consistently some of the best sprinters in the world. Being in a paid position he should be accountable. Therefore he should be fired.

Dennis Mitchell coaches an athlete on the relay team. Based on the rules, he shouldn't be allowed to coach the relay team - unless Gatlin is not interested in running for the USA as a relay team member.

Dennis Mitchell is a convicted drug cheat and should not be allowed by the national governing body of Track and Field to be part of its organization nor associated with national teams.

Dennis Mitchell coaches a known drug cheat in Justin Gatlin. Gatlin... The sprinter who gets faster with age??? Anyone athletically associated with Dennis Mitchell comes under the microscope of guilty by association. That goes for the other athletes that he coaches as well.

This Dennis Mitchell USTF circus has been going on for too long. Makes one wonder what Dennis Mitchell might have on someone in the USATF or who in the USATF is wanting to keep him employed and why?

USATF makes poor decisions on numerous occasion. For that they have been consistent on. They are getting paid by membership and fail to listen to membership. Membership is USATF's customers. Very poor customer relations.

USATF has tarnished their own brand by making armature decisions on professional/commercial matters.

What has happened to the governance of our sport? There are so many knowledgable and good people in the USA that understand our sport and what is needed to be an athlete centrist organization that represents the highest standard of moral sport conduct.

Who in their right mind, within the USATF would continue to have a guy like Dennis Mitchell associated with the USATF? I would like to know who on the USATF board voted this hack back in. At least that way, as a member, I would know who not to vote for.

Dennis Mitchell Doesn't pass the smell test.

Not good enough wrote:

polevaultpower wrote:

The relay coach doesn't just show up at the Olympics. There are commitments throughout the year that conflict with the collegiate season. The odds of finding a good, active, college coach to take the job are slim. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

There are many current college coaches coaching T&F at the Olympics including the women's head coach.

http://www.usatf.org/News/Price-Smith,-Lananna-chosen-to-lead-2016-U-S--Olym.aspx

It's also not like Vin Lannana, the head men's coach, has no other commitments.

There were lots of college coaches for the 2012 Olympics also:

http://www.usatf.org/News/Deem,-Valmon-selected-to-head-2012-Olympic-Team-St.aspx

USATF could do much better, given Mitchell's doping past and the baton drops that keep happening over and over under his watch.

You are comparing apples to oranges. None of those positions require year-round commitments, their commitments do not really start until the college season ends.

The Relay coach has to be at Penn Relays, the World Relays, training camps, etc.