Debbie Beard and Amanda Thorpe, whose husbands have died, spoke together to a BBC journalist at the launch of a new prevention toolkit. The two women, who did not previously know each other, gathered at an event launched by the Prince of Wales and the Royal Foundation, which called on sport at all levels to make suicide prevention part of its culture.
Matt Beard, the former manager of the women’s team at Liverpool, died in hospital on 20 September 2025. He is believed to have taken his own life, though the inquest is yet to conclude. Debbie lost her husband just over a year ago. Matt died a month after stepping down as manager of Burnley Women, a role he held for only two months. When the inquest into his death was delayed indefinitely, Burnley stated that it was “aware of the inquest currently in progress” and that it “would not be commenting at this time”.
Amanda Thorpe lost her husband, Graham, a former England and Surrey cricketer, who took his own life in 2024. Graham, according to her, “fell into depression” after losing his job as a batting coach in 2022. Amanda previously stated that she believed her husband would be alive had he received greater support from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after leaving his coaching role. Following the inquest into his death, the ECB described the incident as “a deep tragedy” and added that Thorpe’s departure was “a stark reminder” of the challenges many face regarding mental health.
Amanda recounted that Graham had struggled for a year to a year and a half during the pandemic. She said that he did not like following rules, and during the pandemic there were many, such as playing in a “bubble” of conditions. Graham received therapy and took medication while working, but then lost his job without seeing it coming. He was proud to have spent his life in the game and could not believe he was made redundant so suddenly. Amanda believes that at least two other people were made redundant at the same time, an event that occurred at the end of the Ashes series, which was catastrophic. Graham was likely drinking too much, and his final journey during the pandemic was very stressful.
At the end of the tour, he recorded a playful video as they drank with their opponents. One of the players sent it to two friends, who passed it on, and the video ended up in the Sydney Morning Herald. Amanda believes he was shocked and could not believe what had happened; he was embarrassed and ashamed of the video, which, in her view, he had exaggerated. He was in a tunnel where he thought he had ruined everything and was quickly sliding down a steep slope. He had ten therapy sessions, and Amanda only learned of his suicidal thoughts after a very serious attempt in which he was severely injured. She did not know this at the time and feels that things might have been different had she known. She felt that he was not doing well and thought he might need more help, perhaps residential, but they did not know where to find it.
Debbie said that, looking back, she believed there had been changes in his behaviour. The team was not performing well, and there was much abuse on social media. Matt, during media interviews, was unable to speak the truth about what was happening behind the scenes, and at home, he would vent to her. Debbie later learned that Matt had been talking to his brother about his mental health. Whenever she asked how he was, he would say “I’m fine, I’m fine” because he always wanted to please others. He did not want to worry her or the family with his thoughts and various struggles. The dismissal came suddenly, and there was much speculation around it. He began to drink more than usual, and in his behaviour, he took on more risks, which may have been the beginning.
Amanda said that Graham was known as a fierce competitor, and that he was a very happy person who loved life, but that this could happen to anyone. He was not thinking clearly, as everything had become like a whirlwind, and he had lost the ability to be grounded and think clearly. “You think you are thinking clearly when in fact you are not,” said Amanda. Simon Jack, who led the conversation, was 17 years old when his father took his own life. The new toolkit, “On Your Side”, is available online, and its aim is “to make suicide prevention part of sport, just as warming up, training and performance are”.
