Father blames United manager for Maddy Cusack's death

The father of late Sheffield United footballer Maddy Cusack has told an inquest that the behavior of her manager, Jonathan Morgan, was the most significant cause of the deterioration in her mental health before her death in September 2023. The inquest into the 27-year-old's death began on Monday, June 29, at Chesterfield Town Hall.

David Cusack testified that his daughter was the happiest she had ever been in the months before Morgan was appointed manager of the women's team in February 2023. He said she was dismayed to learn of the appointment, having previously left Leicester City in 2018 after an unhappy period under Morgan's management there. "We thought he was in our rearview mirror," Cusack said. He described her as gradually becoming demotivated and deflated, losing her characteristic bounce and joie de vivre.

The inquest heard that Maddy Cusack was found unresponsive by her father at the family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on the evening of September 20, 2023. Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead. Police treated her death as non-suspicious.

David Cusack detailed a series of pressures his daughter faced in the months leading to her death. After signing a new...