Shaun Assael

Shaun Assael
Born Shaun Assael
(1962-02-04) February 4, 1962
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Magazine Writer, Author
Education New York University, 1983
Website
shaunassael.com

Shaun Assael (born February 4, 1962) is an American author and award-winning investigative journalist. A senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, Assael is a member of ESPN network's Enterprise & Investigations Group.[1] He is the author of four books, each an ethnographic investigation into a sports culture.

Early life and education

Assael was born in New York City, New York and raised in Forest Hills, Queens. He graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism and political science in 1983.[2] While a student, he published several stories in The New York Times,[3] including an investigation into the commercial fishing industry in Montauk.[4]

Journalist

Early career

Shaun Assael began his career as a crime and court newspaper reporter in Florida. As a staff writer for The Ocala Star-Banner[5] and The Lakeland Ledger[6] from 1984 to 1986, he covered notable trials, legislative action, local politics, and general features. He returned to New York as a staff writer covering courts and state prisons for the Journal News (a Gannett Westchester newspaper) in 1986,[7] before moving to the weekly magazine Manhattan Lawyer (part of American Lawyer Media) to cover New York City criminal and civil courts.

Freelancer

As a freelancer, Shaun Assael was a regular contributor to The Village Voice,[8] The New York Observer, and 7 Days magazine. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times,[9] Esquire,[10][11] New York, Smart Money, Maxim, Men's Fitness,[12] Rolling Stone, Board Member, and The Daily Beast.[13] A July 2007 Glamour (magazine) feature about the 1979 gang rape and murder of Hope College student Janet Chandler won a third place national Headliner Award for Magazine Writing & Reporting.[14]

ESPN

Shaun Assael joined the development team that launched ESPN The Magazine in March 1998.[15] As a senior writer,[16] he has covered a wide range of subjects with a focus on crime reporting, including: the Securitas depot robbery, the largest cash robbery in British History pulled off by UFC star "Lightning" Lee Murray;[17] the 2015 FIFA corruption case,[18] and NFL pro Marvin Harrison's involvement in a shooting incident in Philadelphia.[19] His profile of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay's battle with drugs[20] was listed in USA Today For the Win's list of top sports stories of 2014.[21]

Dubbed the magazine's "longtime steroid expert"[22] by the Wall Street Journal, Assael has covered some of the sport world's most notorious scandals involving performance enhancing drugs. In December 2004, his interview with BALCO Labs founder Victor Conte revealed Conte's allegations of PED use by Olympic track and field athlete Marion Jones.[23][24] On December 13, 2007, Assael broke the news that Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens would be implicated in the Mitchell Report in a story dictated to his editor from the backseat of a taxi.[25] For an ESPN special report on steroids in Major League Baseball,[26] Assael, along with colleagues Peter Keating and Jon Pessah, took first place for magazine writing and reporting of a major news event in the 2006 National Headliner Award.[27]

As a member of ESPN's Enterprise Unit, he is a regular contributor to ESPN network's Outside the Lines and has made appearances on E:60. His 2015 Outside the Lines investigation of the suspicious hanging death of a North Carolina teen Lennon Lacy[28] won the Bronze World Medal for best sports journalism at the 2016 New York Festival TV & Film Awards,[29] third place in the 2016 National Headliner Award for sports or human interest feature,[30] and a Silver Radio winner for documentary on social issues from the 2016 World's Best Radio Competition.[31]

Author

Shaun Assael's first book, published in 1998 by Ballantine Books, is Wide Open: Days and Nights on the NASCAR Tour. He followed racers Brett Bodine, Dave Marcis, and Bobby Hamilton during all thirty-one races of the 1996 Winston Cup Tour. It provides an insider view of the physical, financial, and mental risks and rewards for the drivers, the crews, and their families. Assael's first exposure to the NASCAR scene was covering Jeff Gordon late in the 1995 season.[32]

His second book, Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment was written with former Charleston Post and Courier wrestling columnist Mike Mooneyham[33] and published by Crown Publishers in 2002. A behind-the-scenes look at World Wrestling Entertainment, it chronicles the on and off-screen drama of its stars, including its founder Vince McMahon. Called an "essential read for both fans and enemies of pro wrestling" by Publishers Weekly,[34] the book was a New York Times bestseller.

Steroid Nation, his third book, is the culmination of his years of research and reporting on drug scandals in professional sports. Published in 2007 by ESPN Books, it chronicles the life of steroid "guru"[35] Dan Duchaine, author of The Underground Steroid Handbook, and the emergence of the war on drugs in sports.

His most recent book, The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights was published by Blue Rider Press in October 2016.

Works

References

  1. ↑ "ESPN Creates Special Investigative Unit: Enterprise Unit to Co-Publish Important Stories in Magazine, Website". ESPN Public Relations. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Drug Use in Sports". ProCon. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Friedman, Barry (10 August 1985). "It's Hard to Get Much Feel for a Reporter When All You See is a Byline". The Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Assael, Shaun (1 November 1981). "Larger Hauls Raise Fears of Depletion". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Assael, Shaun (19 May 1984). "Firm Gave Bad Figures, Witness Says". The Ocala Star Banner. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Assael, Shaun (26 January 1986). "Planners Expect Growth in Minorities". The Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Journal News Archive Search Query". LoHud Newspapers. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Assael, Shaun (8 August 1995). "Runnin' Scared". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "New York Times Author Search". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Archive Author Search: Shaun Assael". E Classic. Esquire Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Assael, Shaun (March 1997). "The King's Last Lap" (PDF). Esquire Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Article Abstract: Into the Light". Highbeam. Men's Fitness. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Contributor Profile: Shaun Assael". The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, LLC.
  14. ↑ "2008 Winners". National Headliner Awards. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "Author Page". The File Blog. ESPN.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "ESPN Magazine Masthead". ESPN. ESPN.com.
  17. ↑ Assael, Shaun (August 2008). "The Story of Lightning Lee Murray". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  18. ↑ Shaun Assael; Brett Forrest (February 2016). "The FBI vs FIFA". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  19. ↑ Shaun Assael; Peter Keating (January 2009). "You Have No Idea". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  20. ↑ Assael, Shaun (October 2014). "The Shadow Life of Jim Irsay". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  21. ↑ Mandell, Nina (29 December 2014). "The 15 Stories You Should Read Before the Start of 2015". USA Today For the Win. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  22. ↑ Thompson, Adam (21 December 2007). "Why a Cable-TV Network is Hiring the Ink-Stained". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  23. ↑ Assael, Shaun (December 2004). "The Last Laugh". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "Report: Jones used steroids for two years before 2000 Games". ESPN.com News Services. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  25. ↑ Thompson, Adam (21 December 2007). "Why a Cable-TV Network is Hiring the Ink-Stained". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  26. ↑ Shaun Assael; Peter Keating (November 2005). "Who Knew?". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "2006 Winners". National Headliner Awards. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "The Death of Lennon Lacy". ESPN. Outside the Lines. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "2016 Winners Showcase: World's Best TV & Films". New York Festivals. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  30. ↑ "Associated Press, Guardian Among Top Headliner Award Winners". Associated Press. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  31. ↑ "2016 Winners Showcase: World's Best Radio Programs". New York Festivals. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  32. ↑ "Book More than Just Story About Fast Cars". Charlotte Observer. The Spokesman-Review. 12 February 1998. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  33. ↑ "Staff: Mike Mooneyham". The Post and Courrier. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  34. ↑ "SEX, LIES, AND HEADLOCKS: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  35. ↑ D'Angelo, Bob (17 October 2007). "Informing a Nation About Steroid Use". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
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