(SP) – When Bill Cosby’s trial for sexual assault was moved to Pittsburgh to get away from the spotlight in the entertainer’s hometown of Philadelphia, Cosby’s defense team had one goal: stack the juror with as many diehard Ben Roethlisberger fans as possible.
“This is a city where a large portion of the population has overlooked multiple allegations against their star quarterback because he is good at football,” said Cosby’s lead attorney. “That’s the kind of mindset we need on the jury in this case.”
Throughout jury selection, Cosby’s attorneys only had one question for prospective jurors: “Do you own a Ben Roethlisberger jersey that you still wear?” In numerous cases, the defense team didn’t even have to ask that question because the jury candidate was wearing a Roethlisberger jersey in court. When selection was complete, Cosby’s attorneys successfully filled nine of 12 spots with a Roethlisberger jersey owner.
“These people know that despite being accused of rape twice, Ben was never charged with a crime,” said the lead attorney. “There was no evidence. So if there can be two accusations without evidence, why can’t there be 48? Two and 48 aren’t that far off, right? We think we can get the people of Pittsburgh to agree on that.”
Of the three jurors who don’t own Roethlisberger jerseys, they were revealed to be diehard Penn State fans.
“We just have to present Mr. Cosby as a benevolent, granfatherly figure and those Penn State people will think everything he ever did, or did not do, was perfect,” said a Cosby attorney. “There’s no way we lose this case here.”
