“If I look at the facts from the time of me being there and beyond … Josh unfortunately had two major injuries,” Goodwin said.
“And then from that, there are a lot of other players within the squad that, in my opinion, worked a lot harder than he did. There were, in fact, multiple occasions that Josh decided to take up outside opportunities, try to hide it from us and lie to us and miss training sessions and club commitments.
“For him to say those things, when my experience was that he directly chose outside opportunities, which would have affected the way the coaches thought about him or his opportunities … other boys were working extremely hard, spending hours on the training track, trying to get better, whilst Josh is missing these sessions to take up other opportunities. That’s his choice to make.
“But then to say that he didn’t play because of who he chooses to love rather than all of the other things that he chose … it’s disappointing that he would come out and say these things.”
Goodwin also said he was not aware of any group chats in which players “mocked” a photo of Cavallo and his partner, although he did spend a period of time away from Adelaide playing in Saudi Arabia.
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“I’ve [not] lost respect for Josh. I’ve had a great relationship with Josh,” Goodwin said.
“I thought a lot of him. Obviously he was very brave in coming out the way he did. We were very accepting of him … as we try to be with absolutely every person that walks through the club at Adelaide United.
“[We have] an inclusive environment that no matter what sexual orientation you have, what religion you have, what skin colour you have, that when you come to Adelaide United, you’re a part of this club, you’re part of this family – and what matters most is the football.
“We’ve always been that way, especially more so since Josh, and obviously highlighting some of the factors around that, and the way that things can get better. For me, it’s a very disappointing scenario.”
