Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard evidence on Tuesday that Jonathan Morgan, the coach of former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack, was playing mind games with her before her death. Cusack, 27, was found unconscious by her father at the family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on September 20, 2023, and died later that day.
Coach's Comments About Weight and Playing Time
The inquest heard that Morgan made comments about Cusack's weight while he managed Sheffield United Women. Grace Riglar, who was in a relationship with Cusack, told the inquest that Cusack's stress was largely caused by Morgan joining the club. Cusack believed the coach had made a “personal attack” on her after she was no longer a regular starter, despite previously starting every game.
Riglar said: “She was used to starting every game, she was an important member of the team. When Jonathan came, she was in and out from the starting team a bit. Her going from starting, to being on the bench quite a lot… she saw that as a setback. That impacted her a lot. I just think she almost felt like it was a bit of a personal attack, and that Jonathan was playing mind games with her by starting her one week and dropping her the next. She just felt those little things were intentional.”
Previous Experience with Coach
Riglar told the inquest Cusack had been anxious when she learned Morgan was joining Sheffield United because of her previous experience working with him at Leicester City. She said: “I think it was stuff she told me about her previous experience prior to Jonathan coming to Sheffield. I think she said that they played a game against a team while Jonathan was the manager. She had done something on the pitch and Jonathan called her a psycho from the sideline. I don’t think she let anyone know those types of comments affected her. But they did and they made her uncomfortable.”
Riglar also told the court Morgan had made comments about Cusack’s weight, prompting her to change her eating and exercise habits, including skipping breakfast, cutting out carbohydrates, and going on extra runs after training.
Relationship Disclosures and Uncomfortable Remarks
The inquest also heard that Morgan asked players to disclose any relationships when he joined the club before regularly referring to Riglar as “Mrs Cusack”, something Cusack found uncomfortable. Riglar said: “We wanted to keep our relationship very professional. The football side and relationship side were very separate.”
Cusack had been signed off by her doctor from both playing football and her full-time marketing role at Sheffield United. Before her death, she told Riglar she wanted to move to Dubai to become a flight attendant and had been searching online for a new job. Riglar added: “She didn’t want to go back to playing football. I don’t think she really knew how to get out of that situation.”
Evidence from Line Manager
Cusack’s line manager, Eoin Doyle, who worked with her in Sheffield United’s marketing department, also gave evidence. Doyle told the court he was with Cusack when she first encountered Morgan after he took over as manager. He said: “She was anxious about whether she should go up and say hello to him and Maddy is usually a confident young woman.” He added it was “different to how I would see her approach someone else.”
Doyle said Cusack also appeared generally “anxious” at the time, recalling how she had been “fretting” about accidentally parking in a cycle lane, which he said “did not seem like the Maddy I knew”. He also told the court Morgan referred to Cusack as “love sick” while discussing concerns about her after Riglar had left United for another club. When asked by Morgan whether he considered the remark to be malicious, Doyle said he did not. He said: “I took it as concern but I still think [it was] ill-judged.” He added he had never believed Cusack would harm herself and said she had given no indication that she intended to do so.
The inquest continues.
