Active Cosmos player to call NASL match against Indy Eleven

New York Cosmos starting right back Hunter Freeman will miss this weekend's match with the Indy Eleven due to injury, but he'll still be a key figure to watch on Saturday. Instead of playing, Freeman will be joining JP Dellacamera and Janusz Michallik in the ONE World Sports booth for the match, where he'll certainly provide a unique insight for the fans.

I've never heard of an active player joining the commentary team for a match involving his coaches and teammates, so this experiment will certainly be worth watching. When asked about the unique situation, here's how the Cosmos' fullback responded:

It definitely is a unique situation, although one that I’d rather not have happened, because that means I would have been healthy and on the field. Unfortunately, but fortunately I guess, this opportunity has presented itself. It will certainly be different because it is a team that I have so much knowledge of, and my heart is really in it and I have so much passion for because it’s my club, it’s my team. I’m still part of the team. To watch the guys I’ve been battling with in preseason and training, it’s a different aspect to call a game from.

There are some interesting parts to it because I’ll certainly have more knowledge than most analysts on what’s been happening with the team, but it can be tricky because as an analyst you have to be honest with what you see, but it is your own team and your own teammates.

When asked if how he'd handle being critical of coaches and teammates Freeman had the following to say:

I think I’m smart enough to know what can be said and shared that people probably wouldn’t know, and there’s obviously some things that people don’t know or won’t know, and it’s better that they won’t. You’ve been around this game, you talk to enough reporters and all that stuff, and you learn that stuff rather quickly. As I’ve learned from some of my good friends that are analysts, you always want to be honest, but there’s a way to say everything. I’m not going to say I’m not going to be honest, because I think that takes away from why I’m there. But there is a way to say everything.

There's more to the interview with Freeman, and you should probably take the time to read it all ahead of the Eleven match. For those with access to the ONE World Sports broadcast, this match just became even more interesting than it already was.

Good luck, Hunter.