The mother of Maddy Cusack told an inquest it is too difficult for women footballers to report grievances, for fear of being blacklisted, and said her daughter would still be alive if \u201cher nemesis\u201d Jonathan Morgan had not been appointed as Sheffield United\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n
Deborah Cusack said Morgan, who is scheduled to give evidence at Cusack\u2019s inquest on Monday, made her daughter \u201cfeel as if she had to give up football\u201d, prior to her being found dead at the family\u2019s home in Derbyshire on 20 September 2023. Thursday\u2019s hearing also heard there had been an \u201cindustrial-scale\u201d loss of players\u2019 sensitive medical data involving the records-keeping system used for women\u2019s footballers at multiple clubs, including missing records for Cusack. The club\u2019s doctor at the time, Subhashis Basu, admitted that he had failed to adequately report the data breach.<\/p>\n
Deborah Cusack also told Chesterfield coroner\u2019s court that her daughter had asked Dr Basu for a referral to a counsellor two weeks prior to her death but that he had advised doing so \u201cfurther down the line\u201d. Responding to that claim, Dr Basu disagreed with that recollection, saying: \u201cI essentially said \u2018I can get in touch with Sporting Chance if you want me to\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing Maddy Cusack as a \u201chappy and bright soul with a beautiful smile\u201d and a \u201cfun-loving daughter\u201d who was \u201cthe heart of our family\u201d, Deborah Cusack said her daughter had \u201cnever ever\u201d had any mental health problems prior to Morgan\u2019s appointment as Sheffield United\u2019s manager in February 2023. However, she also told Morgan \u201cI\u2019m not blaming you for exactly what she did,\u201d before adding: \u201cBut you made her feel how she felt. It was the little knocks every now and again. You cut her down to size. If you hadn\u2019t been employed, my daughter would be here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deborah Cusack was also critical of the Professional Footballers\u2019 Association (PFA) and the Football Association (FA), saying the PFA had not checked in on Maddy Cusack despite her being a PFA member, while another player raised a separate grievance during Maddy\u2019s time at Sheffield United. Deborah Cusack said: \u201cThey should have checked in on any other members at the club. Perhaps they need to be a little more aware of the differences between men\u2019s and women\u2019s [football].<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganisations such as the FA have the Integrity phone line [a confidential reporting service], but I know no girl will ring it. It is quite difficult to raise a grievance because you feel you\u2019re going to be blacklisted or labelled as a trouble-maker. Maddy felt she couldn\u2019t speak to the hierarchy at Sheffield. That really needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deborah Cusack also said Morgan had upset Maddy Cusack by calling her \u201cbottom-heavy\u201d \u2013 something Morgan, who is representing himself, claimed was a reference to her muscles and a strength-and-conditioning regime \u2013 and that her daughter had felt \u201chumiliated beyond belief\u201d when Morgan called Maddy Cusack\u2019s girlfriend Grace Riglar \u201cMrs Cusack\u201d in front of the team. Visibly furious while directing this comment to Morgan, Deborah Cusack asked: \u201cWho are you to give rules when you yourself had a relationship with a player?\u201d<\/p>\n