Former North Melbourne recruiter Bryce Lewis received over $300,000 in compensation payments after claiming he was bullied by a senior AFL figure
A former North Melbourne staffer has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation payments after claiming he was bullied by former Roos football boss Geoff Walsh.
A former North Melbourne staffer who attempted to take his life after claiming he was bullied by a senior AFL figure and footy heavyweight has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation payments.
Long-time Roos recruiting chief Bryce Lewis accused AFL football department consultant Geoff Walsh – who has previously held leadership roles at Collingwood, Carlton, St Kilda and North Melbourne – of aggressive behaviour towards him at the Kangaroos, including branding him a “weak c***”.
The Herald Sun can reveal that Mr Lewis received a WorkCover “pain and suffering” payment of $175,000 last April after a years-long legal battle.
Another WorkCover settlement of $163,000 over wages was made to Mr Lewis in 2019. The costs of his ongoing medical treatment are also being covered.
Mr Lewis’ claims are detailed in a circumstance investigation report by the Macil Group and in a signed affidavit to the County Court obtained by the Herald Sun.
Mr Walsh was accused of calling Mr Lewis a “weak c***” at the 2015 national draft in Adelaide in the presence of then-list manager Cameron Joyce and other club staff.
Mr Lewis said he “suffered injuries” while undertaking his duties at North Melbourne “due to both Geoff Walsh’s behaviour, and the behaviour of other senior managers in protecting me from such behaviour”.
In one statement, Mr Lewis said: “On my way to work and before work in the mornings, I would vomit and my legs would shake … this was happening due to the thought of me entering the workplace or walking past Mr Walsh’s office”.
Mr Lewis also claimed that he was sacked in December 2016 after complaining about Mr Walsh’s workplace conduct at a series of meetings with Kangaroos management.
He worked briefly in football again as a spotter at Essendon in 2017, but resigned after suffering a mental breakdown.
The Herald Sun is not suggesting the allegations by Mr Lewis are true, only that they have been made and were the subject of legal proceedings. No court findings have been made.
In a harrowing County Court affidavit, Mr Lewis revealed he attempted “suicide by overdose” in August 2017.
“As a result of my workplace injury, I am unable to work in the competitive sporting arena. I feel I have completely lost my identity,” Mr Lewis said in the affidavit.
“News pieces or articles around toxic work environments in the AFL world make me incredibly distressed.
“I have trouble sleeping, including having nightmares about my work with North Melbourne, and I have intermittent suicidal thoughts and I am occasionally tearful.
“I have exhibited behaviours I am not proud of. I have sent abusive messages and left aggressive voicemails for people I used to work with. I am still very ashamed of this behaviour and regret that it occurred.
“I have misused alcohol and been arrested for drink driving on two occasions.”
Mr Lewis said his spiral into the football abyss began after the 2015 incident with Mr Walsh at the national draft.
“After this, I felt uncomfortable and stressed about working around Geoff … I felt embarrassed, belittled and intimidated,” Mr Lewis said.
“I was good at my job. I received fantastic performance reviews … (but) throughout my employment with the defendant, I suffered injuries while I was undertaking my duties.
“Geoff Walsh was the head of the football department. I believe Geoff had a reputation for being intimidating and aggressive, and somewhat of a bully.”
Mr Lewis said he had formally reported the “weak c***” incident to management.
“I recall that I was emotional during this conversation,” he said.
He said the manager he spoke to was “dismissive and stated that I needed to ‘toughen up, this is just the football environment’ and that ‘everyone knows Geoff is like that’.”
In January 2016, the club’s human resources officer arranged for Mr Lewis to meet with management again.
“I was advised that Geoff had been counselled about his behaviour previously with respect to other staff,” Mr Lewis said.
“It was not made clear to me whether Geoff had been counselled with respect to his behaviour to me.”
A month later, Mr Lewis attended another meeting.
“I explained my medical condition and the effect Geoff’s behaviour had had on me and my health,” he said.
He said after this meeting a senior manager “took me aside and admonished me for presenting at work with an insincere fake smile.
“(He) told me Geoff resented me complaining about his behaviour. This made me more stressed and anxious about working with Geoff.”
Another “altercation” between Mr Walsh and a Kangaroos doctor took place at half-time during a match in April 2016, the affidavit states.
“I was completely unsurprised as I had also been subjected to the same behaviour from Geoff,” Mr Lewis said.
In June 2016, Mr Lewis was told that he would no longer be serving as North Melbourne’s recruiting chief.
“During this meeting (I was) advised (the club) had lost confidence in me due to my mental fragility,” he said.
“On 6 December 2016, my employment was terminated.”
Mr Lewis worked briefly at the Bombers in 2017 and was offered a full-time role as pro scout, but could no longer cope.
“In August 2017, after I realised I couldn’t stay at Essendon due to my depression as a result of my employment with North Melbourne, I attempted suicide by overdose,” he said.
“I was in my car and was located by the police.”
Mr Lewis and his legal team fought for almost six years to be fully compensated for his experience at the Kangaroos.
His first WorkCover claim against North Melbourne was made in 2018.
In that year, while receiving treatment in a psychiatric clinic, Mr Lewis was visited by a North Melbourne board member who urged him to drop his WorkCover claim.
WorkCover agreed to settle his “pain and suffering” claim last year on the day of a scheduled County Court hearing.
Documents show Mr Joyce, now Essendon’s VFL coach, denied hearing Mr Walsh call Mr Lewis a “weak c***” or ever witnessing any “verbal abuse, bullying and intimidation directed at Mr Lewis during his employment”.
“Mr Lewis did raise concern to me in regard to Mr Walsh’s behaviour directed at him,” Joyce said in a statement.
“Mr Lewis was emotional and stated to me that Mr Walsh’s behaviour had affected him.
“I do not believe that Mr Walsh was aggressive by nature, however, I believe Mr Walsh is hard and fair and robust …
“Management action taken to address Mr Walsh’s alleged behaviour raised by Mr Lewis was a discussion between Mr Walsh and CEO Carl Dilena.”
Mr Lewis was a recruiter at the Roos for 13 years, plucking star forward Nick Larkey at pick 73, in 2016, Ben Brown at pick 47, in 2013, as well as club greats Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell in back-to-back drafts in 2008 and 2009.
Mr Walsh was inducted as a North Melbourne life member at a club function this season.
When announcing his move to the AFL in 2023, the league’s football operations chief Laura Kane heralded his work with the Kangaroos, where they had been employed together in 2016 – the year Lewis was sacked.
“I worked closely with Geoff at North Melbourne and his many years of experience in key administration roles will be a huge asset to this program as we look to bolster the pipeline of talent into this critical role in our AFL clubs,” she said.
North Melbourne, the AFL and Mr Walsh declined to comment.
Originally published as Former North Melbourne recruiter Bryce Lewis received over $300,000 in compensation payments after claiming he was bullied by a senior AFL figure
