Justin Gatlin’s coach has resigned his post as head of the U.S. relay teams, Reuters reports. 

Due to new USATF guidelines that prevent coaches of potential relay members from leading the relay squads, Dennis Mitchell stepped down on Monday from a position he had held since 2014, as a new provision seeks to “minimize potential or perceived conflicts,” USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer said. 

USATF’s High Performance Division Executive Committee and the Athlete Advisory Committee worked together to implement the new rule according to Geer, and Mitchell subsequently resigned.  

As the coach of an athlete that has served two doping bans, and having served one himself in 1999, Mitchell’s role as relay coach has been controversial. When asked by Reuters if he thought his reputation was the root cause of this new rule, the 50-year-old gave mixed answers.

“In terms of dealing with my past, all parties that were involved were very respectful of my past and, in my opinion, didn’t really use that as a driving force,” he said.

In the next line, however, Mitchell acknowledges that his history has rubbed some people the wrong way.

“But I think there obviously are people out there that have strong feelings about my past… and didn’t support me being the coach.”