Inquest into Maddy Cusack’s Death Begins as Family Questions Coach’s Role
An inquest into the death of Sheffield United footballer Maddy Cusack has opened at Chesterfield Coroner's Court, with her father testifying that the team's former coach, Jonathan Morgan, was central to her mental health decline and a source of stigma at the club.
An inquest into the death of Maddy Cusack began at Chesterfield Coroner's Court on June 29, 2026. Cusack was found unresponsive at her home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on September 20, 2023, by her father, David Cusack. She was the first player to make 100 appearances for Sheffield United, having joined the club from Leicester City in 2019.
David Cusack told the inquest that the most significant cause of Maddy Cusack’s mental health deterioration was the behavior of Jonathan Morgan, who became her coach at Sheffield United in February 2023. Morgan, who is representing himself at the proceedings, accused David Cusack of relying on hearsay to form his opinion of him. David Cusack stated that Maddy feared being stigmatized and ridiculed at Sheffield United if she disclosed her mental health problems.
In a written complaint sent by the family to Sheffield United regarding issues stemming from Maddy’s relationship with Morgan, David Cusack identified Morgan as a target of the family's grievances. David Cusack also said that Maddy’s departure from Leicester City was principally driven by a strained relationship with Morgan. Leicester City Women were owned by Morgan's family prior to the King Power takeover.
This account was written only from facts that survived Augur's
corroboration pass — 7 corroborated across opposed news blocs,
0 contested (attributed to both sides), 6
single-source (attributed). Nothing was added; no significance was inferred.
Model Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.
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