The girlfriend of the late Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack fought back tears as she told an inquest that her partner’s eating habits changed after a comment from her former manager allegedly referencing her weight.
Grace Riglar, who played alongside Cusack for one season at Sheffield United, gave evidence at Chesterfield coroner’s court on Tuesday. At one point she had to take a break while being cross‑examined by lawyers representing the club.
“Maddy Cusack's girlfriend said her eating habits changed after a weight comment by manager Jonathan Morgan.”
Riglar described Cusack as “a very caring soul who always wanted the best for people”. She said that after Jonathan Morgan arrived as Sheffield United Women’s head coach in February 2023, Cusack’s stress became largely caused by his presence. Cusack, 27, was found unconscious at her family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on 20 September 2023 and died later that day.
Riglar told the court Morgan had made comments about Cusack’s weight, prompting her to change her eating and exercise habits—she skipped breakfast, cut out carbohydrates and went on extra runs after training.
The inquest also heard that Morgan called Cusack a “psycho” from the sideline during a game when he previously managed her at Leicester City. Riglar said: “I don’t think she let anyone know those types of comments affected her. But they did and they made her uncomfortable.”
After Morgan took over, Cusack went from starting every game to being “in and out” of the team. Riglar said: “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.”
Morgan, who is representing himself at the inquest and is scheduled to give evidence on Monday, personally questioned Riglar. During that exchange they disagreed over whether Cusack had an injury that Morgan claimed would have ruled her out of his first match in charge.
When Morgan first arrived, he summoned any players who were in relationships to a meeting. Riglar said that meeting made Cusack “uncomfortable”. Morgan issued rules for player‑relationships, including that “if he was to be annoyed with any one of us, the other can’t hold a grudge against him”. He also regularly referred to Riglar as “Mrs Cusack”, something Cusack found uncomfortable. “We wanted to keep our relationship very professional,” Riglar said.
Earlier in September 2023, Riglar noticed Cusack was “fidgety, very erratic and scrolling on Indeed looking at jobs” during a trip to Matlock, but said she was unsure whether she knew then that Cusack had recently been prescribed anxiety medication.
The inquest continues.