Sprinter Dennis Mitchell has accused Russ Rogers,...

Sprinter Dennis Mitchell has accused Russ Rogers, the sprint and hurdles coach of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, of being an agent for some of its members and allowing that to influence his selection process, according to a report in The National.

The newspaper reported today that Rogers selected four runners for the 400-meter relay at the Seoul games from eight finalists determined at the 1988 Olympic trials. Mitchell was quoted as saying Rogers threatened him and later placed him on the team after he agreed to switch agents.

“If you don’t let me represent you, then you’re not going to have a chance to be on the relay team,” Mitchell was quoted as saying.