Andrew Wilkie has sensationally accused AFL executives of ‘covering up’ Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin’s alleged cocaine use.
Federal MP Wilkie made a series of explosive claims in parliament on Tuesday night having received a signed statement from former Demons head doctor Zeeshan Arain in which he admitted to conducting ‘off the books’ illicit drug tests.
As part of his lengthy statement to parliament, Mr Wilkie reflected on Dr Arain’s testimony and made an observation on the AFL’s alleged handling of concerns raised by former Melbourne chief executive Glenn Bartlett about Goodwin’s supposed cocaine use.
‘The first is the cavalier way the AFL executives discussed Mr Bartlett’s concerns about alleged cocaine use by Goodwin, which is reflected by this signed statement by Mr Bartlett where he says he believes efforts were made by AFL executives and others to cover up Mr Goodwin’s alleged cocaine use, specifically hiding their concerns about the alleged drug use for up to 18 months.
‘That seems to me to be well explained by Mr Bartlett’s testimony where he states: They all knew my views on this issue and that as an employment lawyer I would have taken appropriate action to deal with the alleged illegal behaviour and would have refused to turn a ‘blind eye’ to it.
‘The second thing that jumps out at me is that Mr Bartlett made it clear to Mr Goyder and Mr McLachlan that he planned to tackle cocaine abuse at his club at every level, including at the executive level, and, eight weeks after that, Mr Bartlett was unexpectedly pushed out of the AFL, despite having just recently been asked to serve as president for three more years. I will say that again.
‘The highly regarded President of the Melbourne Football Club, Glen Bartlett, was dumped by the AFL just eight weeks after a meeting with AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and AFL Chair Richard Goyder where he suggested mandatory drug testing for AFL executives.’
In response to the broader allegations surrounding his football club and the AFL in general, Goodwin insisted he had no knowledge of any potential scandal.
He said the allegations were ‘news to me’ and said he had ‘no line of sight’ on the alleged clandestine tests facilitated by the league.
‘Every club’s interested now to find out more information,’ Goodwin told reporters on Wednesday.
‘I’m sure that’s a given right across the competition and we’re one of those (clubs).
‘Every person in clubland would want answers and want understanding of how the policy works, and is it a success. We’re no different to that.
‘We’ve been through a bit (as a club) but this is an AFL policy and we’ll be asking the appropriate questions and getting the answers that we need.’
‘I don’t have a thought about the ex-doctor or where that sits,’ Goodwin said.
‘This is new information and this (illicit drugs policy) has been in place for a long time.
‘This is an AFL policy. It’s got nothing to do with our doctor, our ex-club doctor – this is an AFL-wide thing.’
