Biography
Jeff Sarokin's first career was as a musician. After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in Philosophy, he played drums and sang professionally, and wrote several original songs, from 1978 to 1981. He then turned to the study and practice of law. He attended Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, and in 1984 he joined the Manhattan District Attorney's office, where he investigated and tried criminal cases for fourteen years. For the final two years of his legal career, he was a Deputy Bureau Chief in the D.A.'s Office Trial Division.
In 1992, Jeff was asked by a friend at CBS Sports to write the script for the opening "Tease" to the Albertville Winter Olympic Games. Jeff also wrote the Tease for the Closing Ceremony, and thereafter he contributed to several pieces for CBS Sports' events, including The Masters, the Final Four, and the Lillehammer and Nagano Winter Olympics. Eventually, he accepted a job writing for the live studio shows at CBS Sports. Before long, he was writing for many major events and networks: Wimbledon for HBO and NBC, the Olympics for NBC, plus the NFL, College Football, the Tour De France and the NCAA Tournament for CBS. In 1998, he left the law to pursue writing full time.
Since 2004, Jeff has been under exclusive contract to ESPN, where he is a writer and producer for the Creative Content Unit. He has received several "Telly" and New York Festival awards for his work, plus twelve Sports Emmy's, including two for Outstanding Writing, and others in the Tease, Documentary, Live Event, and Long Feature categories. Jeff's work for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa earned him one of the above-mentioned writing Emmy's, plus the National Edward R. Murrow award for writing. His work on the ESPN SEC Storied documentary, It's Time, led to his being asked to write the screenplay for the movie of the same name. It's Time, the story of Chucky Mullins and Brad Gaines, is set to be released in the Fall of 2017.
Jeff still plays drums and often commits golf.
