Former Melbourne president Glen Bartlett claims there was a “malicious” campaign to drive him out of the Melbourne Football Club.
In an explosive interview with News Corp’s Mark Robinson, Bartlett said there were behavioural issues involving senior coach Simon Goodwin, and raised them with AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder.
He says he told Goyder in January 2021 that he had been made aware of “serious behaviour issues at a senior level” within the club.
“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,” came the reply from Goyder.
“This was news to me,” Bartlett said.
The Herald Sun reported February last year that Melbourne had considered sacking the premiership coach amid allegations of drinking and gambling with players, as well as workplace bullying.
McLachlan had passed on information to Demons chief executive Gary Pert in late 2020 relating 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 said.
Former Melbourne president Glen Bartlett claims there was a “malicious” campaign to drive him out of the Melbourne Football Club.
In an explosive interview with News Corp’s Mark Robinson, Bartlett said there were behavioural issues involving senior coach Simon Goodwin, and raised them with AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder.
He says he told Goyder in January 2021 that he had been made aware of “serious behaviour issues at a senior level” within the club.
“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,” came the reply from Goyder.
“This was news to me,” Bartlett said.
The Herald Sun reported in February last year that Melbourne had considered sacking the premiership coach amid allegations of drinking and gambling with players, as well as workplace bullying.
Gil McLachlan, Glen Bartlett, John Worsfold and Andrew Embley at the 2021 grand final in Perth at Optus Stadium.
McLachlan had passed on information to Demons chief executive Gary Pert in late 2020 relating 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 said.
“Hanging out with his players, drinking and betting - just the wrong behaviour.
“You can’t be doing that s**t.”
Amid concerns about the workplace culture at Melbourne, Bartlett, a workplace lawyer by trade, had pushed for hair testing for all employees, which would have been a first in Australian sport.
Bartlett claims this is why he was driven out of the organisation, despite having been appointed recently by the club’s nominations and recommendations committee for a three-year extension from 2021 as president.
Soon after the crisis talks, Bartlett claims he had productive conversations with leaders at Melbourne around the possibility of drug testing, but 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 also detailed the toll the saga took on his personal life, creating “serious health issues” for himself and fiancee Victoria.
Victoria had an attempt on her life, while the night of the 2021 preliminary final, Bartlett spent the night 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 legal action against Melbourne president Kate Roffey and three club directors, Channel Nine, The Age, as well as Nine reporters Caroline Wilson and Jake Niall, citing “malicious attack after malicious attack in the media”.
Melbourne’s former medical officer doctor Zeeshan Arain, now an assistant doctor with the Melbourne Storm, also raised “unreasonable and repeated behaviour” from the Melbourne head coach as a concern, with legal documents revealing that Goodwin allegedly lashed out at Dr Arain in 2020 over the doctor’s advice to rest Angus Brayshaw on the basis of concussion symptoms.
“Are we f***en fair dinkum,” Goodwin allegedly said to Dr Arain.
“Why the f*** would you change the plan when we agreed he could push through his comfort zone?
“Fing (player) was at Chadstone with his mates last Thursday but is fen concussed today.”
Letters from Dr Arain’s legal representatives as part of the doctor’s unlawful dismissal dispute said 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 considered stepping away from the game because of 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 said.
The Melbourne Football Club engaged top law firm Ashurst upon being hit with the unfair dismissal claim, which saw Dr Arain receive a payout as 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 lost their jobs, with Bartlett forced out of the club in April 2022, while Arain was sacked days after raising his concerns in October 2020.
Despite the settlement containing a non-disparagement agreement, 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, but the coach did not accept that there was a problem.
The Melbourne Football Club engaged top law firm Ashurst upon being hit with the unfair dismissal claim, which saw Dr Arain receive a payout as 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 lost their jobs, with Bartlett forced out of the club in April 2022, while Arain was sacked days after raising his concerns in October 2020.
Despite the settlement containing a non-disparagement agreement, 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, but the coach did not accept that there was a problem.
Bartlett stepped down as president in April 2022 after serving since 2014.
