Melbourne AFL coach Simon Goodwin has opened up on three years of accusations of illicit drug use, vehemently denying the claims.
However, the premiership winner made a surprising statement about troubled star Clayton Oliver while also revealing he has not spoken to Joel Smith after the Demons player was suspended for alleged cocaine use.
Goodwin has been under fire since claims were made about a drinking session at Hotel Sorrento in 2020 involving the coach and several players.
WorkSafe Victoria has initiated an investigation into events that transpired at the Melbourne Demons during the tumultuous period when former club president Glen Bartlett abruptly resigned from his position in April 2021.
Bartlett’s departure marked the beginning of a bitter feud with the Demons, during which he publicly made allegations against the team’s coach, Simon Goodwin, including unverified claims of improper conduct.
This ongoing dispute has been fuelled by reports from News Corp, spanning a three-year period, which have consistently alleged that Goodwin engaged in illicit substance use at the Sorrento Hotel, with Bartlett leading the charge in accusing the coach.
Demons chief executive officer Gary Pert has confirmed his involvement in an investigation into rumors suggesting that Goodwin had used illicit substances during a gathering with players at the venue on the Mornington Peninsula in 2020.
However, the investigation conducted by the club did not find any substantiated evidence to support the allegations against the coach.
Pert said he was ‘disgusted’ by the continued allegations of problematic behaviour including substance abuse by Goodwin, saying they were unfounded and harmful to the premiership winner and his family.
Now, in his most in-depth interview on the scandal to date, a candid Goodwin has told SEN Breakfast about the toll the allegations have taken on him.
- ‘I do not use illicit drugs. I give everything I can to my family and my team in a way that dedicates my life to my football club and to have this play out over three years where my reputation has been caught up in a boardroom battle,’ he told SEN Radio on Tuesday.
‘It has been documented over and over and over again in the public and it’s been really hard for myself, my family and enough is enough. I don’t use illicit drugs and I never will.
