Sheffield United failed Maddy Cusack, and the shift of the women’s squad from part-time to full-time professional status in the summer of 2023 was not handled as it ought to have been, an inquest examining her death heard.
Ian McCallum, who served as general manager of the women’s side on a temporary basis from February 2023 until the close of the 2022-23 campaign, also stated in court that the club had been “somewhat naive regarding what was required” for a fully professional women’s setup and that a “talented group of athletes merited better”. McCallum noted that his dissatisfaction with how the club approached the women’s programme had “contributed” to his choice to depart the role in the summer of 2023.
Attorneys for the Cusack family, while questioning McCallum about written evidence he had supplied before the hearing, asked him to verify that he had indicated “the club failed people”, to which he answered: “In certain respects, yes,” adding: “The club failed a number of individuals.” When pressed further: “Did they fail Maddy in some areas?”, McCallum responded: “Yes.” Cusack passed away on 20 September 2023 at the age of 27.
Sheffield United had confirmed on 16 February 2023 that McCallum had “accepted the role of women’s team general manager through the end of the 2022-23 season” following the exit of Zoe Johnson, who had moved to take up the post of managing director for women’s and girls’ football at Brighton.
On Tuesday, the court listened to excerpts from an email Johnson sent to Carl Shieber, Sheffield United’s head of football administration, and Vicki Anderson, the club’s head of human resources, during the process that ultimately resulted in the hiring of Jonathan Morgan as the new team manager in February 2023. In that correspondence, Johnson offered her assessment of the managerial candidates: “I know [Morgan] best among the three and his standing within the sport isn’t the strongest, but his CV is solid,” before adding that she was “unsure it would be a good fit” yet “he would certainly be an improvement on the other applicants we received.”
McCallum, who took part in the recruitment process for Morgan, was asked in court what he had been aware of regarding Morgan’s reputation before the appointment. He responded: “From what I gathered, he was known as someone who was very determined about his vision for a football side, driven to win [and] willing to take tough decisions to achieve that.” He added: “Beyond that, I didn’t have any further insight [into his reputation].”
During questioning by Morgan — who was acting as his own legal representative in court — McCallum stated he had never observed Morgan raise his voice at Cusack, nor mistreat her, nor speak negatively about the midfielder.
McCallum was also asked by the coroner to elaborate on an earlier statement he had made, in which he expressed that Sheffield United appeared to view the switch to full-time women’s football as “a box-ticking exercise”. McCallum explained: “From an outside perspective, it likely seemed like the appropriate move.” He said the “achievements of the England women’s national team probably hastened” the transition, but he was “not convinced the necessary resources were in place to execute it at the highest possible standard”. He added that he sensed going full-time was something that “was deemed necessary rather than something genuinely desired”.
When asked to specify which individuals had given him that impression, McCallum refrained from naming anyone, saying: “It was a perception I gathered from several people,” and upon further inquiry, that it was “various executives – I can’t recall the exact names right now”. Senior figures at Sheffield United, including Shieber and chief executive Stephen Bettis, are expected to testify at the inquest on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the court also heard additional testimony from Morgan, continuing his evidence session that had occupied the entire hearing on Monday. The coroner questioned Morgan at length about his familiarity with the club’s handbook and the obligations of a line manager to report any mental wellbeing concerns about a staff member to human resources. When asked if he had consulted HR about Cusack, Morgan replied: “No, because I raised it with [Dr Subhashis Basu, the club doctor] who I believed was the appropriate person at that moment.”
The club’s safeguarding lead, Cheryl Anderson, told the court that she was not informed Cusack was facing mental health difficulties and that no issues concerning Cusack had been brought to her attention. The inquest is set to continue on Wednesday.
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