Cusack Father Blames Coach Morgan at Death Inquest
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Maddy Cusack, a 27-year-old former Sheffield United midfielder, was found dead at her Derbyshire home on September 20, 2023, with her father telling Chesterfield Coroner's Court she had become "demotivated" and lost her "joie de vivre" in the months before.
- David Cusack testified his daughter was "dismayed" when Jonathan Morgan, her coach at Leicester where life was made "unpleasant" for her, became Sheffield United women's head coach in February 2023, and identified Morgan as "the man in the firing line" in a written complaint to the club.
- David Cusack said the "worst thing that could have happened" before his daughter's death was "the one thing she wanted" — a full-time playing contract at Sheffield United — because training hours clashed with her part-time marketing role and the pay was less than the previous year.
- Sheffield United offered no psychotherapy or other mental health support to Cusack, and she feared being "stigmatised and ridiculed" and dropped from the team if she used her mental health as an "excuse" for time off, the inquest heard.
- Sheffield United's own internal investigation, which concluded in December 2023, found no evidence of wrongdoing, directly contrasting with the family's account that Morgan was responsible for her decline.
- Morgan, who is representing himself at the inquest, challenged David Cusack by suggesting his daughter left Leicester due to a hamstring injury limiting playing time rather than a "clash of personalities."
Why it matters: The inquest puts Sheffield United's handling of player welfare and its 2023 internal investigation under public scrutiny, with the family seeking accountability against a coach the club cleared of wrongdoing — a contest that could shape how professional women's football clubs are expected to investigate complaints and provide mental health support.
Ask SkimNews
