Melbourne crisis: Demons defend approach to player welfare, but refuse to be drawn on doc’s claims over concussed player Angus Brayshaw

Melbourne refused to be drawn on claims coach Simon Goodwin pressured its club doctor over concussed Angus Brayshaw, but the Demons have defended their approach to player welfare.

Angus Brayshaw at Melbourne training on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Melbourne has defended its governance of player welfare but refuses to answer questions over allegations coach Simon Goodwin pressured a former club doctor not to rest concussed midfielder Angus Brayshaw.

The club also failed on Wednesday to address allegations of a fiery exchange in which Goodwin questioned Dr Zeeshan Arain’s advice that Brayshaw needed to go home and rest “following an exacerbation of his concussion symptoms”.

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Dr Arain was sacked as Melbourne’s senior doctor in October 2020 just days after raising concerns with CEO Gary Pert over the club’s culture.

His legal claim, resulting in a six-figure payout, detailed a series of alleged bullying incidents involving Goodwin.

Among them was a claim that Goodwin had delivered an abusive tirade to Dr Arain after the medico advised that Brayshaw required more rest after another head knock.

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Angus Brayshaw at Melbourne training on Wednesday. Picture: Picture: Getty Images

While not responding directly to the Brayshaw claims, Melbourne said in a statement on its website the club: “wants to be very clear on the importance it places on player welfare and concussion management.

“The club doctor solely decides if the player is concussed and when they can return to training or to play. This is a policy that we have always followed since the AFL Concussion Policy was created.

“Further to this, it is part of the club’s governance that every year the club doctor attends either a board meeting or a board subcommittee meeting and this has occurred since 2014.

“This communication process was established to create the appropriate channel for the club doctor to raise any concerns they may have regarding occurrences within the Football Program, with the Board Directors and CEO.

“As a matter of governance, in each meeting, inquiries are made of the club doctor whether he or she had experienced any pressure from a coach or staff member regarding returning a player from concussion to training or playing earlier than the club doctor recommended.

“No concerns have been raised to the Board or CEO at these board meetings by any club doctor since the policy was created in 2014.”

‘F***en fair dinkum’: Doc’s claims of Goodwin abuse revealed

—Michael Warner

Premiership coach Simon Goodwin delivered an abusive, expletive-riddled tirade to Melbourne’s senior doctor in a bid to pressure him not to rest concussed player Angus Brayshaw, the medico alleged in legal papers.

The fiery exchange allegedly took place after Goodwin questioned long-time club head doctor Zeeshan Arain’s advice that Brayshaw needed to go home “following an exacerbation of his concussion symptoms”.

“Are we f---en fair dinkum,” Goodwin was alleged to have asked Dr Arain.

“Why the f--- would you change the plan when we agreed he could push through his comfort zone. F---ing (player’s name) was at Chadstone with his mates last Thursday but is f---en concussed today.”

The alleged conversation was included in legal documents lodged with the Melbourne Football Club by Dr Arain’s lawyers as part of an unlawful dismissal dispute in October 2020.

Detailing “unreasonable behaviour” by the coach, a legal letter stated “one player had suffered a concussion and a plan was devised for his recovery including rest”.

Melbourne midfield gun Angus Brayshaw with coach Simon Goodwin. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

“According to our client (Dr Arain), Mr Goodwin voiced his extreme displeasure about the decision to rest the player …,” the legal letter said.

“After attempting to explain his recommendation to Mr Goodwin, Mr Goodwin continued to swear and talk over our client, suggesting that the player was exaggerating his symptoms and our client (Dr Arain) was not managing him properly.”

Clubs have been under increasing pressure to put the wellbeing of concussed players first amid compelling evidence of a link between repeated head knocks and the devastating brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can only be diagnosed after death.

Graham “Polly” Farmer, Danny Frawley and Shane Tuck were all diagnosed with CTE.

Many more players have launched, or are launching, legal actions against the AFL and clubs relating to mental health issues linked to repeated head knocks, with CTE symptoms including memory loss, confusion, depression and anxiety.

Last year, the AFL introduced a mandatory 12-day rest for all players diagnosed with concussion, but new research reveals the brain might need up to a month to heal, with a growing push for a 30-day stand-down period.

Melbourne’s club doctor Zeeshan Arain, pictured in 2017. Picture: Tony Gough

Wingman Brayshaw has suffered a series of head knocks and wears a helmet during games.

The 26-year-old premiership star has said he even considered taking some time away from footy due to the impact of repeated knocks early in his career.

“There were times when I was prepared, if it was the best thing, maybe to step away from the game,” Brayshaw said.

Dr Arain, in his October 2020 legal letter to the club, also accused Goodwin of bullying in relation to end-of-season surgeries in 2018.

The medicos’ lawyers said: “Mr Goodwin telephoned Dr Arain expressing his frustration about all surgeries and particularly regarding one player who had not yet received surgery … Mr Goodwin became irate expecting all surgeries to be completed within 72 hours of the last game, saying ‘You’re f---ing around. (The player) is an A-grade player and we need training in the pre-season ASAP. All this f---ing around has taken up valuable time. Are we f---en here to do our job and win games of football or are we here to f--- around?’

“He then abruptly hung up on our client.”

Dr Arain had been sacked on October 6, 2020, just days after raising concerns about Goodwin’s conduct and the club culture during an interview with chief executive Gary Pert, being conducted as part of a review of the football department.

“On October 1 2020 for approximately 50 minutes, Dr Arain had an extensive telephone conversation with you (Pert),” the legal letter said.

“During his discussion with you, you (Pert) informed Dr Arain that anything he said would remain confidential and encouraged our client to speak freely … on October 5 2020, you telephoned Dr Arain stating that upon reflection, you didn’t think that his philosophy and the club’s philosophy would align … on October 6, 2020 Dr Arain received an email from you essentially proposing to terminate his engagement.”

The letter declared that Dr Arain’s sacking appeared to be contrary to the Fair Work Act. The club secretly agreed to a secret six-figure payout for Dr Arain soon after.

Revealed: Truth about Demon president’s sudden exit

Four wins and zero losses always seemed an unusual time to pull the pin on a club presidency.

When Glen Bartlett was replaced by Kate Roffey as Demons boss in April last season, the story being peddled was that Bartlett was “totally cooked” and ready to hand over the baton after doing the hard yards in a gruelling eight-year rebuild.

But the emergence of a cache of club documents surrounding the alleged conduct of premiership coach Simon Goodwin suggests there is more to the story on the sudden departure of Bartlett and the axing of the club’s senior doctor six months earlier.

Melbourne Demons AFL Chairman Glen Bartlett

Bartlett had made it his mission to clean up the culture of the competition’s long-time basket case club – something superstar midfielder Christian Petracca publicly praised him for not long after his exit.

The former West Coast Eagle was lured to take charge of the Dees in 2013 by former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou and his deputy Gillon McLachlan in the wake of the damaging tanking saga.

But Bartlett’s infamous “Weeties packets” spray in August 2020 was depicted by some as the moment the president “broke the trust” with Goodwin and the football department.

The Demons had just capitulated to Port Adelaide at the Gabba, prompting the then club boss to publicly condemn the team’s performance as “insipid” and “soft as butter”.

“It was disgraceful. When you pull on a Melbourne jumper, we don’t give them out in Weeties packets,” Bartlett said.

Geoff Freeman, Vice Chairman of the Demons (left) and Glen Bartlett.

“It’s not what I would have done,” Bartlett’s replacement Roffey later publicly declared.

But what is clear now is that Bartlett’s hasty exit from Melbourne on the eve of Round 5 last year coincided with the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes crisis talks at the highest level of the club regarding Goodwin’s alleged behaviour.

Bartlett and other directors, including Mohan Jesudason and David Robb, were pushing to get to the bottom of the steady flow of claims about their coach, including detailed information provided by long-time club doctor Zeeshan Arain.

Bartlett sought the counsel of AFL chiefs Gillon McLachlan and Richard Goyder on February 2.

Demons Chief Executive Peter Jackson, Demons coach Simon Goodwin and Chairman Glen Bartlett

It’s unclear what steps, if any, the AFL and its integrity unit took after the meeting.

When asked about Bartlett’s sudden exit in Grand Final week last year, Roffey insisted that it was planned.

“We talk about succession planning all the time. It’s always difficult. We love these clubs and you always want to be a part of them, but we all have to step off at some time. These conversations take place over months,” Roffey said.

But Bartlett had been re-elected unopposed for another 12-month term in early March, just weeks before he suddenly announced that he was going.

The more plausible explanation today is that Bartlett – a leading workplace lawyer and OH&S specialist who had worked hard to transform the culture of the club – was pushed out and silenced because his views on how the club should deal with the allegations of behavioural problems differed markedly from the others.