Former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack feared stigma and ridicule within the club before she was found unresponsive by her father at her family home in Derbyshire, an inquest has heard.
Maddy Cusack (Image: PA)
Former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack was “disappointed” to find out her former coach had joined her football club months before his death, her father has told the inquest.
Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard Mr Cusack, 27, feared stigma and ridicule at the club before he was found unresponsive at his home address in Horsley, Derbyshire, on September 20, 2023.
In a written complaint sent by the family to Sheffield United, her father, David Cusack, said the women’s head coach, Jonathan Morgan, was at the “front line” and outlined the problems allegedly stemming from his relationship with Morgan.
The inquest said Mr Cusack was “very happy” to leave Leicester, where he first worked with Mr Morgan, and was “loving life” until Mr Morgan rejoined him as coach at Sheffield United in February 2023. The court was told that Ms Cusack’s life had become “unpleasant” while she was playing for Leicester.
Cusack said her daughter had “never met anyone like Mr. Morgan before,” including the way he “interacted with people.” Her father said she “bounced back on her feet” when she joined the South Yorkshire club in January 2019, where she began working part-time in United’s marketing team.
A tribute left after Maddy Cusack’s death (Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
“[She]was disappointed at the prospect of him coming back into her life. I’m going to say, ‘Look, things may have changed. It’s a new start for both of us.’ I tried to be positive.” The inquest heard that Ms Cusack had become less strict about eating healthily before she died, and her father added: “I think towards the end she lost motivation.
“She didn’t let herself go or anything like that. She was demotivated and depressed.” Mr Morgan, representing him at the inquest, asked Mr Cusack if he knew his daughter had left Leicester because a hamstring injury had limited her playing time.
Mr Cusack said he believed his daughter’s failure to play for Leicester was due to a “personality mismatch”. He also told the inquest that the “worst thing that could have happened” to Ms Cusack before she died was “the one thing she wanted” – to sign a contract to play full-time football for Sheffield.
Mr Cusack said he was “worried” about his daughter’s club contract by the summer of 2023. He said: “I knew she wasn’t very happy with how things were going. She got sick in July and I think that was a result of the contract.”
“That contract was there for most of the summer. My own theory about it was, ‘If we don’t offer her a contract, she’s going to look elsewhere.’
He told the inquest that when Ms Cusack signed up to become a full-time player, she found it difficult because her training time clashed with her marketing job. “She was anxious and worried. How would she be able to juggle the two roles? She had less money than the previous year. She had lost her joie de vivre.”
Asked about Cusack’s statement that she had “no future,” her father said: “She has to give up something. She can’t keep going like this. We thought she was depressed, not suicidal.” The inquest heard that United did not provide Mr Cusack with any psychotherapy or other support and that his doctor gave him a medical condition to take time off from work.
Mr Cusack said his daughter, who was prescribed medication, felt she would be “removed” from the team if she used her mental health as an “excuse” and feared being criticized and ridiculed. Cusack added: “This would not be the first time an organization has stigmatized people who are not good enough to work.”
The father told the court that on the night his daughter died, he found her upstairs in the family home before attempting CPR and calling an ambulance. Mr Cusack told the inquest: ‘After she passed away, we wanted and still want those who we think are responsible to be held accountable.
“Rather than just say, “Sorry,” we decided that we wanted to write down what her problems were, the problems she told us about, and file a complaint.
“It was Mr. Morgan who was in the firing line.
“We wanted to vent our frustrations.
“This is not a mystery, it’s all there.”
Cusack said his daughter was “talented in most sports,” but “soccer was her passion.” Sheffield United’s own investigation, which concluded in December 2023, found no evidence of wrongdoing.
The autopsy continues.
If you need mental health support, contact Samaritans on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
