Coach called Maddy Cusack 'a liar', inquest hears

The coach of former Sheffield United footballer Maddy Cusack told the Football Association (FA) she was "generally a liar", an inquest into her death has heard.

Cusack, 27, was found unconscious by her father David at their family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on 20 September 2023 and was pronounced dead the same day.

Jonathan Morgan, who coached Cusack from February 2023 while she was at Sheffield United, gave evidence to a two-week inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court on Monday.

When responding to the claim, which the inquest heard was made in an account he gave to the FA, Morgan said that she had "omitted a lot of information" when she spoke to her family about his behaviour.

In the week after Cusack's death, her inquest was told her family sent a written complaint to Sheffield United, outlining issues allegedly stemming from her relationship with the club's coach.

The inquest has previously heard from Grace Riglar, who played for the team and was in a relationship with Cusack, who said Cusack was "anxious" about Morgan joining the club after her experience of working with him at Leicester City.

Cusack's mother Deborah described Morgan as her daughter's "nemesis", adding he had made comments about her weight and relationship to "cut her down to size" and be "in control".

Giving evidence, Morgan said he had no concerns about his relationship with Cusack when he joined Sheffield United as manager.

He had previously released the player when he was a coach at Leicester City, the inquest was told.

The inquest heard Morgan had given an account of his relationship with Cusack to the FA as part of the investigation following her death.

In response to Dean Armstrong KC, who is representing Cusack's family, Morgan said: "In terms of the scenarios since Maddy passed away, I genuinely feel things have not been portrayed factually or correctly with how she was feeling.

"With the lying comment, it was based on the back of things after Maddy passed away. It became evident she omitted things to her family and others that I had supported her with."

He told assistant coroner Sophie Cartwright KC there had been "a lot of one-sided information".

When asked about the way he spoke to Cusack, Morgan said: "I never shouted at Maddy Cusack at Sheffield United.

"I've never shouted directly at Maddy at Leicester City.

"Maddy left Leicester in the January transfer window - it wasn't my wish, I don't think it was Maddy's wish either."

When questioned about Cusack's lack of playing time after he came to the club, Morgan told the inquest she was still recovering from a foot injury when he first picked the side.

The inquest heard the midfielder had played a full 90 minutes the week before his arrival.

He then said, due to the form of other players, she had not been selected until his fourth game in charge.

Morgan denied he was trying to "cut her down to size" by not letting her play, adding that she was recovering from an injury she sustained before he came to the club.

Morgan told the inquest Cusack had disclosed her relationship with Riglar at his request to everyone in his team.

Justifying his request, Morgan said: "In the past, relationships have had issues within the environment. People would break up, it would cause scenarios that sort of divided the team's opinion and make things a bit uncomfortable."

Cusack's mother Deborah previously told the inquest that her daughter would have been "absolutely humiliated beyond belief" when Morgan called her girlfriend and teammate Riglar "Mrs Cusack" in front of other players.

However, Morgan told the inquest that "never happened", adding that he said "here come the girlfriends".

He said the comment was "tongue-in-cheek", which was "meant to be taken as a bit of banter", and that they had then made a joke about his weight.

The coach was also asked about a comment he had made to Cusack during a meeting.

Morgan said he had told the player she was "too muscular, too bottom-heavy" to carry out the number of sprints needed with his style of football.

He said her strength and conditioning training was then changed, and her running statistics were "much better" by the end of the season.

Morgan said he started to see a difference in Cusack's behaviour in August 2023.

"She was just less bubbly, less energetic," he said.

Morgan said he arranged a meeting with Cusack on 4 September, and afterwards contacted the club doctor about her health.

He told the doctor he thought "something was bothering Maddy", and that she might need some help.

Earlier in the inquest, a former team-mate of Cusack told the court her death was "definitely preventable".

Nina Wilson said Morgan had left a number of players feeling "ostracised and isolated".

The inquest continues.