He started playing as a catcher with the Statesville Tigers of the Western Carolinas League.

He proceeded to play for the Rocky Mount Leafs of the Carolina League in 1968, then with the High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms.

He was also crew chief during the semi-finals and finals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic,[4] and served as the home plate umpire in the latter game.

[10] Cousins umpired his 4,000th game on May 3, 2009, when the Seattle Mariners faced the Oakland Athletics.

His crew for that season included Angel Hernandez, Eric Cooper, and Marty Foster.

[14] Cousins was arrested in March 2015 for driving under the influence in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona.