A 'Cleaner' of Athletes' Dirty Laundry

Now, sports leagues test for steroids and illegal drugs and have continually toughened those tests in the wake of public scorn. The federal government has gotten involved in high-profile crimes it once ignored, such as steroids and dogfighting. Thus baseball's home run king, Barry Bonds, is facing perjury charges and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is serving a 23-month prison sentence for dogfighting.

And as scrutiny of sports stars increased, so did the realization that bad advice could be devastating, as evidenced by Vick's early refusal to cut a deal in the dogfighting investigation.

Cornwell also believes that players with ever-increasing salaries have been tagged with what he likes to call a "bull's-eye."

"Certainly from the street punks to the hustlers there's a cottage industry growing in America that the substance of which is taking a shot at an athlete to get some money," Cornwell said. "And they need someone to step in and protect their interests."

Or as football agent Eugene Parker, who has sent players to Cornwell, said: "It used to be people would look at the athlete as the hero. Now they look at the athlete as an opportunity for them to hit the lottery."

When the NFL player received a letter notifying him of his diluted drug test, he said he grew terrified. But Cornwell, who many years ago as a young lawyer in the NFL offices helped to write the league's drug policy, began to investigate.

He talked to the trainer for the player's team and discovered the player had been identified as being at risk for dehydration while on the field -- an important league issue after Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer died of complications of heatstroke in 2001. To further guard against such deaths, teams are required to put at-risk players in hydration programs, meaning they are given regular doses of extra fluids.

In the hearing, Cornwell argued to the NFL that a double standard existed in which teams were forcing players to take more fluids, then punishing them for drug tests that revealed a high level of fluids had diluted their urine. How did the league know if the player's diluted drug test was a result of masking agents or the NFL's own hydration program?

In its hearing with Cornwell and the player, the league could not answer that question, and as a result settled.

Recently, Cornwell had a player call in a panic, sure a publication was about to write a story that he believed to be inaccurate and would destroy his reputation. He wanted the attorney to call the publication and threaten to sue for defamation if the story was published.

"That's not the kind of lawyer I am," Cornwell said, recounting the anecdote. "I'm looking for clients who need advice."

He turned the conversation to Roger Clemens, the former pitcher whose reputation was damaged when the Mitchell report alleged he used steroids. In vehemently fighting his inclusion in the report, Clemens, who is not a Cornwell client, kept the story alive and opened the door to suggestions he might have had an affair with an underage girl and possibly lied in testimony before Congress.