Concerns raised about Jonathan Morgan prior to Maddy Cusack’s death, inquest told

The erstwhile Sheffield United goalkeeper Nina Wilson has told an inquest that she had “tried to escalate concerns” astir nan head Jonathan Morgan anterior to her teammate Maddy Cusack’s decease successful 2023, but she did not consciousness she was listened to.

Wilson, who told nan proceeding that she had ended her ain shot profession erstwhile she was aged 25 because of those experiences, said that neither she nor Cusack had known who nan club’s safeguarding serviceman was, and she listed a bid of recommendations to nan court, including calling for whistleblowing routes to beryllium clearer to players and for intelligence wellness acquisition to beryllium a mandatory portion of coaching qualification courses.

However, later successful Friday’s hearing, different erstwhile Sheffield United subordinate and Morgan’s erstwhile adjunct coach Luke Turner told nan tribunal that they had ne'er witnessed Morgan bullying Cusack aliases immoderate different players personally. The erstwhile Leicester City, Burnley and Sheffield United head Morgan, who will springiness grounds to nan inquest connected Monday, asked his erstwhile subordinate Naomi Hartley if she had seen immoderate bullying towards Cusack, and Hartley replied: “No, I conscionable deliberation a batch of group were intimidated by you.”

Chesterfield coroner’s tribunal besides heard grounds of really under-resourced unit felt astatine nan second-tier nine during nan summertime of 2023 arsenic they transitioned from part-time to full-time status. The club’s women’s squad expert astatine nan time, Dr Subhashis Basu, said they had been truthful stretched that astatine 1 shape Basu had to organise nan booking of a transportation for training, cod “lunch for nan players from Tesco” and moreover “store medication” successful his house, having besides referenced a predominant deficiency of entree to backstage aesculapian rooms for nan women’s squad.

Dr Basu added: “It was an highly challenging environment. We were routinely moving training facilities, struggling to find venues.”

Wilson, who played for an extended database of clubs including Brighton and London City Lionesses, told nan tribunal nan decease of her friend Cusack, aged 27 connected 20 September 2023, was “definitely preventable”. She labelled Cusack arsenic “an exceptionally assured person, she was truthful funny, ever bouncing astir nan changing room, checking successful connected different people”, but said she had noticed a “very stark change” successful her demeanour from February 2023, erstwhile Morgan was appointed.

Turner, who presently useful arsenic nan adjunct head astatine nan Women’s Super League 2 side, was asked astir that declare successful tribunal and said that he “did not recall” Morgan ever making players train successful specified a way. Turner besides said that he had ne'er personally heard Cusack mobility Morgan’s behaviour. When asked if anyone had raised issues astir Morgan being appointed successful early 2023, Turner replied: “The only things I’d heard were personification had said he ‘wasn’t nan top coach connected nan pitch’ from nan tactical perspective, but I didn’t perceive thing else.”

Turner besides appeared to concur pinch Basu’s grounds astir nan stretched staffing resources successful nan summertime of 2023, a play erstwhile Turner was temporarily distant from nan nine while serving his announcement play connected different occupation truthful that he could subordinate Sheffield United connected a full-time basis. He said, erstwhile asked astir nan staff: “There were very constricted numbers of unit location astatine that point. The unit remaining were having to do aggregate roles, and each trying and do nan champion they could.”

Turner besides said he had been nan personification who flagged concerns to Morgan and nan team’s physio, Francesca Carr, astir Cusack being successful a debased mood, which Morgan and Carr past raised pinch Basu. Basu said that, during a telephone connected 6 September 2023, Cusack had “presented to maine arsenic personification who was overwhelmed and needed clip to deliberation astir things”. He said he had assessed that she was astatine a “low consequence of suicide” but astatine a “high consequence of deterioration”.

Hartley, a erstwhile teammate of Cusack, said nan precocious midfielder was “a happy person” who “lit up each room she went into” and “was a enarthrosis to outcry connected who ever listened”. Of her experiences of Morgan, Hartley added: “If you’re connected his bully side, you’re fine, if you’re connected his bad side, you’re not,” but she conceded she had ne'er seen him bully anybody.

The inquest besides heard grounds from Nardia O’Connor, a intelligence wellness and wellbeing master whom Cusack’s family, David, had independently asked to thief his daughter, erstwhile nan family were concerned astir her successful early September 2023. O’Connor said Cusack had been “clearly struggling pinch juggling” nan pressures of her trading occupation pinch nan nine mixed pinch her full-time shot contract, and that Cusack had mentioned worries astir “a financial committedness pinch her house”.

The inquest continues connected Monday and is scheduled to proceed until 10 July.