During an inquest examining the death of Maddy Cusack, the former spiritual advisor for Sheffield United stated that she had repeatedly urged him not to disclose their conversations to the club.
Dr Delroy Hall, who served in the voluntary position from 2017 until November 2023—roughly two months after Cusack’s passing on 20 September 2023—testified on Wednesday that he believed players sought his counsel as a “last resort.” Cusack spoke with him on several occasions in August 2023, notably on 23 August, and Hall said she asked him three or four times: “Please don’t tell anyone I’m talking to you.”
Hall informed the court he did not perceive Cusack to be at risk of self-harm, though she confided that she was feeling strain from attempting to balance her dual roles in football and marketing. She held a combined contract that also involved work in the club’s marketing division. Hall noted: “Training and working meant she was occupied all seven days a week.”
Hall recalled telling Cusack that her workload was “not sustainable,” adding: “I felt she was doing a lot.” He remembered she also spoke of having to make a four-hour drive to visit her girlfriend, who had transferred to Lewes FC in East Sussex in the summer of 2023. He told the court he had suggested coping methods like breathing exercises. Hall added that he stepped down from his voluntary role in November 2023—after offering support to some of Cusack’s teammates following her death—because he was no longer clear about his reporting lines within the club.
On Wednesday, the court also heard from two high-ranking officials at Sheffield United: chief executive Stephen Bettis and the head of football administration, Carl Shieber. Both were questioned about the reasons behind the lengthy delay in informing the women’s players of the move to full-time professional status after the 2022-23 season concluded, as earlier testimony in the inquest indicated that the accelerated transition created stress for both players and staff.
The court heard that the hold-up was partially due to awaiting confirmation of the men’s team’s promotion to the top flight, which was secured on 26 April 2026, followed by board sign-off for the funding. It was stated that the women’s side could not have progressed to a full-time setup without the financial backing of the men’s team. Shieber also disclosed that, at one point, the idea of completely withdrawing funding for the women’s team had been discussed.
Shieber further testified about the recruitment process that culminated in Jonathan Morgan being named the women’s team manager in February 2023. He stated that the former head of women’s football, Zoe Johnson, had described Morgan’s conduct on the touchline during one match as him having been “a bit of a dick,” yet she still considered him the leading candidate and urged Shieber to have an informal conversation with Morgan, which then led to a formal interview. He noted that he felt Morgan had been “very transparent” during his job interview.
Shieber also told the court that no one had ever informed him that Cusack was finding it difficult to perform both of her roles for the club. Bettis similarly stated he had never been made aware that Cusack was struggling with the pressures of managing her dual employment.
Bettis defended the club’s management of the women’s team’s shift to full-time status, insisting the club had progressed “leaps and bounds” over the prior three years. At one stage, the coroner stepped in to stop a tense exchange between Bettis and the family’s legal representative.
Bettis told the inquest that he had consistently lobbied the board to raise the women’s team’s budget, but expressed his belief that the financial model of women’s football is “currently not sustainable,” stating: “At that point [the 2022-23 season] we were probably losing £750,000 a year on women’s football. Going full-time then would have doubled that.
“This season [2026-27] we will lose over £2m. The reality of women’s football is it’s currently not sustainable in the format it is. There is a big desire from the top league to keep pushing the product, which I completely understand and respect, but the revenue is not there.
“The onus is on the football clubs to invest. But we were pushing internally to support women’s football. We believe in it. [With greater] broadcast revenues, it becomes a sustainable vehicle.” Bettis added that he believed achieving such sustainability was four or five years away.
Bettis also told the court that he felt “Maddy was a wonderful person,” adding: “There was always going to be an opening for her in marketing [at the club] for her to continue on further in her career after football.”
The inquest is set to continue on Thursday.
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