Maddy Cusack’s father tells inquest she was dismayed at Sheffield United manager’s return | Sheffield United Women

David Cusack, the father of Sheffield United’s late player Maddy Cusack, said that the most important reason for her mental health deterioration was the behavior of Jonathan Morgan, who was the team’s manager at the time, and launched an investigation.

During a tense meeting with David Cusack, Morgan, who is representing himself at the investigation, accused the actor’s father of relying on rumors to form an opinion about him.

The former England Under-19 international was found dead at his family home in Derbyshire on September 20, 2023, aged 27.

David Cusack told Chesterfield coroner’s court his daughter told him she was “terrified at the prospect of him coming back into her life” when she learned Morgan would be appointed by Sheffield United in February 2023. The girl played alongside Morgan for a short time at Leicester in 2018.

David Cusack told the court that Morgan was the “main reason” why he decided to leave Leicester City in the 2018-19 season before moving to Sheffield United during the winter transfer window and said: “He’s never come across a character like him before. The way he deals with people, his management of people, when you’re in you’re in, when you’re out you’re out.” He claimed Morgan’s management style was “my way or the highway”.

Asked what was the sole or major cause of his daughter’s deterioration in mental health, David Cusack replied: “It was Mr. Morgan’s behavior towards her, simple as that.” He added that “other narratives floating around” were a “smokescreen” and that he wanted Morgan to be “held accountable”, before claiming the club was “backing the wrong horse” by not suspending Morgan immediately.

Morgan, who is at Burnley between his duties at Leicester and Sheffield United, is scheduled to give evidence to the court from next Monday. On Tuesday, the inquest will hear from Cusack’s partner and mother before Sheffield United staff begin being questioned. The club’s own investigation, completed in December 2023, found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Morgan, who was sacked by Sheffield United in February 2024, asked David Cusack more than 60 questions. Morgan disputed the father’s statement that Maddy Cusack did not play in Morgan’s first three games after a period in which she was a regular starter. Morgan said the reason he didn’t start was because he was facing an injury.

Morgan was met with shocked expressions from the player’s family and many of his friends in the courtroom when he asked David Cusack: “The statistics showed there were more wins on the team without Maddy; what would you do?” To which his father replied: “I’m not a football coach, I have no idea. I never intervened.” [with any coach’s team selections]. You and I barely talked.”

Morgan then interjected: “How can you give a fair assessment of me if we haven’t talked much?” and David Cusack responded sharply: “He told me what he said,” before adding that “numerous people” had given non-public evidence about Morgan to the FA investigation.

Cusack, who became the first player to make 100 appearances for Sheffield United’s women’s jersey, has worked in the club’s marketing department and played full-time after signing a professional contract in the summer of 2023. This contract earned him £18,000 per year in earnings from football; this was just £6,000 excluding his marketing role salary when he played part-time the previous season. David Cusack said his daughter was apprehensive about juggling both roles.

Morgan claimed that to ease time management pressure, Maddy Cusack prepared lunches for him and gave him more leeway on when he could arrive for training; David Cusack said his daughter never told him about it.

The investigation also included Dr. Maddy Cusack, who issued a sick note after a consultation in September 2023. Mobeen Bhatti’s statements were also heard. Dr Bhatti told the inquest that Cusack had asked for his mental health problems and anxiety not to be specifically mentioned in his diagnosis in the sick report he would submit to Sheffield United to exempt him from work, as he did not want to be “stigmatised”. The investigation will continue on Tuesday and could last up to two weeks.