Footballer Maddy Cusack’s coach called her a 'psycho' and 'commented on her weight' before she died, inquest hears
Jonathan Morgan is also said to have played "mind games" with the star
Footballer Maddy Cusack's coach called her a "psycho" and commented on her weight before she was found dead by her dad, an inquest has heard.
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Jonathan Morgan is said to have played "mind games" towards the former Sheffield United player and made her uncomfortable.
The 27-year-old was found unconscious by her father at their family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, in September 2023, and she died the same day.
Her partner and team-mate Grace Riglar, said Cusack was anxious about Morgan joining the club in February 2023 after her experience of working with him at Leicester years earlier.
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Ms Riglar told the inquest, at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, that "Jonathan called her a psycho from the sideline" during a game against a team while Jonathan was the manager."
She said: "I don’t think she let anyone know those types of comments affected her but they did and they made her uncomfortable."
She also said Morgan joining United was a big cause of Cusack’s stress, which coincided with her being unhappy there.
Ms Riglar added that Cusack thought the coach made a "personal attack" on her by not putting her in the starting line-up for matches.
She told the court: "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 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."
Ms Riglar told the inquest that when Morgan joined United, he told the players in the first meeting that if anyone was in a relationship within the team, they had to tell him.
Ms Riglar said: "She found it uncomfortable when Jonathan would call me 'Mrs Cusack', especially in front of other players.
"We wanted to keep our relationship very professional. The football side and relationship side were very separate."
Ms Riglar also told the court that Morgan made a comment about her partner's weight and she changed her eating and exercise habits, including by not eating carbohydrates, skipping breakfast and going for extra runs after training.
The footballer told the coroner that Cusack was "one of the fittest players on the team anyway", but had become "paranoid" at the start of the new season.
Cusack's dad David discovered his daughter upstairs in their family home before he attempted CPR and called for an ambulance.
He said following her death that the family "wanted – and still want – those we think are responsible to be held responsible".
The inquest heard Cusack had a sick note from a doctor to have time off football and her marketing job at United.
She had also been prescribed anti-anxiety medication, the inquest has been told.
Cusack told her girlfriend before her death that she wanted to move to Dubai and be a flight attendant, and had been looking for a new job online.
The inquest continues.
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