ESPN legal analyst mired in the middle

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By RAY McNULTY
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Just how far the wrong way has the sports world gone in recent years? So far, in fact, that Roger Cossack has become one of ESPN's most prominent analysts.

And he's a lawyer _ a former trial lawyer whose specialty was the criminal courts _ which, sadly, says plenty about the current culture of American sport.

But Cossack says his presence on ESPN also says something about the popular cable network and its commitment to covering sports in the current American culture.

"Sports is a significant part of our culture," Cossack was saying the other day. "It's big business. It's a big part of how millions of people spend their recreational time ... So when you consider the amount of sports out there, the interest in sports, the number of hours devoted to sports viewing and ESPN's impact on our culture, it makes sense that they'd hire a legal analyst, because it's inevitable those issues are going to arise.

"The people who run the network saw that and realized, as part of their sports coverage, a lawyer was necessary."

Maybe too necessary.

Yes, Cossack has chimed in on non-criminal issues. In most cases, though, his appearance on your TV screen means somebody has done something bad - or has been accused of doing something bad, usually something illegal.

"Usually, I'm talking about violations of the law," Cossack said, "and somebody is in trouble."

Those somebodies have included Michael Vick, Jason Grimsley, Tim Donaghy and, more recently, O.J. Simpson, whose murder case in 1994 helped put the former Los Angeles prosecutor and defense attorney in the national spotlight. Cossack also has offered his expert analysis of the whole Barry Bonds/steroids mess, as well as the Duke lacrosse case.

But it was the stunning rape allegations against Kobe Bryant that brought Cossack, who spent seven years at CNN, including a six-year run as Greta Van Susteren's co-host on "Burden of Proof," to ESPN.

"Actually, my first appearance on ESPN was a tongue-in-cheek thing on the guy coming out of the dugout during the sausage race in Milwaukee," Cossack said, referring to the 2003 game during which Pittsburgh first baseman Randall Simon interrupted the between-innings race by knocking over the Italian Sausage with a playful swing of his bat. "We had a lot of fun with it, but I remember thinking afterward: I just gave a legal analysis of a sausage race. How low can your career go?"

Cossack never imagined that he'd eventually end up working for the sports network.

"I'm a sports fan _ I live and breathe UCLA sports and I'm afflicted with the disease of being a fan of the Boston Red Sox _ so it was neat to be on ESPN," he said. "But I thought that was the end of it."

The Bryant rape case, though, prompted ESPN, which found itself covering an increasing number of legal and criminal issues, to hire its own legal analyst in July 2003. And Cossack was as intrigued by the opportunity to work for ESPN as he was with what was happening in Colorado.

"From a legal perspective, the Kobe case was fascinating, especially in terms of the rape-shield law," Cossack said. "On one side, you had the alleged victim's assertion that she was injured during the rape. And on the other side, you had the defense using that assertion to get her sexual history. The defense claimed it wasn't using that information to show she was promiscuous. Instead, it claimed it was using it to show the injuries could've come from contact with other people."

As much as the Bryant case intrigued him, however, the Duke lacrosse case sickened him _ especially when it became obvious that the district attorney was conducting himself unethically.

"It was horrible, just horrible," Cossack said. "The case began to unravel within a week, and I'm still upset with myself for not getting off that tower sooner. But being a lawyer, someone who has been in and around the criminal justice system, my thinking was, 'He must have something.' You just don't think you've got a rogue prosecutor behaving this way. It was very troubling."

Cossack was especially hard on himself because he's being paid to be an expert on the law, same as Chris Mortensen on the NFL and Peter Gammons on baseball.

"People see us," he said, "they're supposed to trust that we know what we're talking about."

And Cossack does.

It's how he translates complicated legal matters into language the everyman can understand, however, that makes Cossack so watchable. He comes into your living room like your favorite uncle and, when he leaves, you're smarter than before.

"If there's anything I do well, that's it," said Cossack, who has stayed on TV for 13 years. "I was a trial lawyer, so I know how to talk to a jury. And this is really the same thing."

Cossack isn't sure what he'll be talking about next week, or next month, but he expects his role on ESPN to expand.

That doesn't bode well for an already-troubled sports world.

But it's good for ESPN.

And necessary.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. E-mail him at ray.mcnulty(at)scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)