Former Melbourne president Glen Bartlett claims there was a “malicious” marketing campaign to drive him out of the Melbourne Football Club.
In an explosive interview with News Corp’s Mark Robinson, Bartlett stated there have been behavioural points involving senior coach Simon Goodwin, and raised them with AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder.
He says he informed Goyder in January 2021 that he had been made conscious of “serious behaviour issues at a senior level” throughout the membership.
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“You need to get (AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan) to a meeting because he’s been dealing with (Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert) for 18 months about it,” got here the reply from Goyder.
“This was news to me,” Bartlett stated.
The Herald Sun reported in February final yr that Melbourne had thought-about sacking the premiership coach amid allegations of ingesting and playing with gamers, in addition to office bullying.
McLachlan had handed on info to Demons chief govt Gary Pert in late 2020 referring to the allegations.
“I know for a fact your coach is out drinking with players at the Sorrento pub – are you crazy? That doesn’t work,” McLachlan stated.
“Hanging out with his players, drinking and betting – just the wrong behaviour.
“You can’t be doing that s**t.”
Amid considerations in regards to the office tradition at Melbourne, Bartlett, a office lawyer by commerce, had pushed for hair testing for all staff, which might have been a primary in Australian sport.
Bartlett claims this is the reason he was pushed out of the organisation, regardless of having been appointed not too long ago by the membership’s nominations and suggestions committee for a three-year extension from 2021 as president.
Soon after the disaster talks, Bartlett claims he had productive conversations with leaders at Melbourne round the potential of drug testing, however that he “had in mind a stronger policy (than for the players) — a two-strike policy, first strike some education and welfare, and do another test and if you test positive you’re out”.
“I spoke to Goyder, and Goyder’s first thing was ‘I think that’s a really sensible idea, Glen, I’ll just run it past Gill and get back to you’, he said.
“Gill was talking to people around me.
“Clearly the AFL endorsed this change. Why? The only thing that changed was me going hard on the hair testing. That was the only thing.
“There’s been so much bulls**t spun about why I stepped down.
“I’m not a dumb guy, I’m not a precious guy, but why do you think I’m suing? It’s not because I’m not president.”
Bartlett additionally detailed the toll the saga took on his private life, creating “serious health issues” for himself and fiancee Victoria.
Victoria had an try on her life, whereas the evening of the 2021 preliminary ultimate, Bartlett spent the evening in hospital after an incident with Pert and Goyder, he says.
“Vicki made an attempt on her life and I luckily was there and was able to intervene.
“She’s lodged formal complaints and I know there is stuff sitting in Goyder and Gill’s emails which haven’t been dealt with, that involves serious mental health and suicide attempts.
“Richard (Goyder) and Gill have done nothing.
“They got a defamation lawyer to ring up Vicki’s support person to say there’s nothing to see there.
“Does someone have to commit suicide before they pull their finger out and have a cup of coffee with you?”
Bartlett has launched authorized motion in opposition to Melbourne president Kate Roffey and three membership administrators, Channel Nine, The Age, in addition to Nine reporters Caroline Wilson and Jake Niall, citing “malicious attack after malicious attack in the media”.
Melbourne’s former medical officer physician Zeeshan Arain, now an assistant physician with the Melbourne Storm, additionally raised “unreasonable and repeated behaviour” from the Melbourne head coach as a priority, with authorized paperwork revealing that Goodwin allegedly lashed out at Dr Arain in 2020 over the physician’s recommendation to relaxation Angus Brayshaw on the idea of concussion signs.
“Are we f***en fair dinkum,” Goodwin allegedly stated to Dr Arain.
“Why the f*** would you change the plan when we agreed he could push through his comfort zone?
“F***ing (player) was at Chadstone with his mates last Thursday but is f***en concussed today.”
Letters from Dr Arain’s authorized representatives as a part of the physician’s illegal dismissal dispute stated Goodwin “continued to swear and talk over (Dr Arain), suggesting that the player was exaggerating his symptoms and (Dr Arain) was not managing him properly.”
Brayshaw has spoken publicly about his ongoing struggles with concussion, revealing in 2019 that he thought-about stepping away from the sport due to them.
“(Dr Arain) informed you (Pert) among other matters that the culture within the club was a risk to the health and safety of everyone involved,” the letter stated.
The Melbourne Football Club engaged prime legislation agency Ashurst upon being hit with the unfair dismissal declare, which noticed Dr Arain obtain a payout as a part of a settlement that required him to co-operate with a board investigation into the bullying claims.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, it was Bartlett and Arain that misplaced their jobs, with Bartlett pressured out of the membership in April 2022, whereas Arain was sacked days after elevating his considerations in October 2020.
Despite the settlement containing a non-disparagement settlement, Pert blasted Dr Arain in correspondence to board members in December 2020.
“(Dr Arain’s claim was) full of inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and a rewriting of history, which was a frustration to all he was accusing.”
The Herald Sun reported that Bartlett confronted Goodwin about his behaviour at Casey Fields in February 2022, however the coach didn’t settle for that there was an issue.
Bartlett stepped down as president in April 2022 after serving since 2014.
You can learn the total Herald Sun unique right here.
Source: www.news.com.au
