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Subscribe to RSSNBC Sports' Bob Costas speaks out in this exclusive interview with Lawrence O'Donnell about his Sunday night comments on the gun culture of America and the murder-suicide committed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher.
NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas on Tuesday expanded on comments he made Sunday about the need for gun control in the wake of the murder-suicide of an NFL player.
"What I was talking about here – and I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear to everybody – was a gun culture," Costas said on MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” referring to comments he made during his weekly half-time slot on NBC's Sunday Night Football. "I never mentioned the Second Amendment. I never used the words gun control. People inferred that. Now, do I believe that we need more comprehensive and sensible gun control? Yes I do. That doesn’t mean repeal the Second Amendment."
Costas sparked a firestorm when he read from a column written by Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock, saying: "If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today."
Belcher, a Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, shot and killed his 22-year-old girlfriend Kasandra Perkins on Saturday, before fatally shooting himself. The gun he used was registered legally, police confirmed on Monday.
Related: Report: Belcher shot girlfriend then kissed her forehead
Following Costas's comments, social media sites lit up as people sided with Costas or berated him.
In his interview with O'Donnell, Costas emphasized a gun culture "that demonstrates itself in different ways":
"It demonstrates itself in the Wild West, Dirty Harry mentality of people who actually believe that if a number of people were armed in the theater in Aurora, they would have been able to take down this nut-job in body armor and military-style artillery," he said. "It plays itself out in the inner cities where teenage kids are somehow armed to the hilt. And it plays itself in the sports world where young athletes are disproportionately armed."
Read more at The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
Costas relayed an anecdote relayed to him by Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy asked 80 football players at training camp if they owned a gun. Sixty-five hands went up.
"Even if all those guns were obtained legally, you can’t have 65 guys in their 20s – aggressive young men subject to impulses, without something bad happening," Costas said.
He continued: "Give me one example of an athlete – I know it’s happened in society – give me one example of an athlete by virtue of his having a gun, took a dangerous situation and turned it around for the better. I can’t think of a single one. Sadly, I can think of dozens that by virtue of having a gun, a professional athlete wound up in a tragic situation."
Responding to criticism that Costas didn't blame Belcher for the murder of his girlfriend: "No one is saying that Belcher is not responsible. However, the ready easy availability of guns makes mayhem easier. The easy availability of guns makes this sort of thing far more likely to occur."
Meanwhile Fox's Whitlock told Roland Martin of Roland Martin Reports that he hadn't gone far enough in his original commentary. He said that he took advantage of writing about gun violence in his column because so many people ignore the real world but they do pay attention to sports.
"I believe the NRA is the new KKK," Whitlock said. "And that the arming of so many black youths, and loading up our community with drugs, and then just having an open shooting gallery, is the work of people that obviously don’t have our best interests."
NBC's Kari Huus and Isolde Raftery contributed to this report.
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"I believe the NRA is the new KKK,"
Mr. Whitlock, My last name is Perez, I belong to the NRA, and I have a gun against the day the KKK comes after me.
Are you advocating that Black America disarm itself and put its throat under the Klan's knife? And if Brown and Black people need to arm themselves to resist oppression, don't Yellow and White people deserve the same right?
I would like to see if Bob costas can legally buy a handgun with a history of Sexual Harassment.
I challenge Bob Costas to go to a gun store and buy a handgun, and see how "easy" it is. Whoever said that there is a "Gun Culture" is misled by the Anti-Rights Culture.
The Truth of the matter is that a man killed a woman and then took his own life After Calmly Talking With Other People In Between The Crime and The Suicide. The coaches who he calmly talked with said that they did not feel that they were in any danger. That is a True Fact in this matter.
Bringing up the Colorado incident is adding fuel to the fire of political bias of the Anti-Rights Culture. One incident is not connected to the other. The football player was no Phd candidate, and vice versa.
This is an abomination of the liberties that our ancesters fought and died to defend.
It is Not a Gun Culture It Is A Freedom Heritage which we all share and enjoy untill the anti-rights culture blows an incident like this up into a political issue.
Bob Costas Must Go..!!!
The reason that we do not hear of Self Defense is because the media is biased and that is not news.
The Home invasions in Australia have increased since they confiscated the guns from free law abiding people. That is suppressed news.
got any comments about the steroid, drugs, head trauama, and sexual assault culture of the NFL bobby?
So this Idiot, Whitlock, likens the NRA to the KKK, and alludes that they are responsible for the arming of black youths? Does anyone else see the problem with that analogy? I very much doubt that the gangs of Chicago or any other city are NRA members. Do these imbeciles really think that criminals obtain their guns through legal channels? As to Costas' comment that both of these people would be alive today if he did not have a gun, perhaps he might ask the late Nicole Brown Simpson if lack of a handgun will stop a football player from committing a violent act. I wonder if any of these liberal idiots have ever done any research as to how many innocents victims lives are saved because some citizen has a handgun and stops the crime.
he also conveniently left out the drinking and history of violence and instability and plagued this player. costas also left out the money costas himself makes off of a male dominated, testosterone driven, drug fueled sport.
Since when did Bob Costas become a political editorialist? He gets paid for SPORTS opinions and he's good at it... I would respectfully suggest that he "stick to his day job".
It is jerks like this newscaster that make me throw-up. I guess if someone broke into his home and started doing his wife from the rear while he was watching, if he had access to a gun, he would just hand it over to the criminals..................give me a break from such trash as this that crowds our airways.
these are the kind of hypocrites like rosie odonnel or whatever her name is - they complain incessantly about the NRA but are the first to have armed security for themselves and their loved ones
and to whitlock or whatever his name is. if the NRA is the KKK, then why they be arming black youth?
Painless violence, daddy's silence
Feed the glamour of drugs and guns
Somebody tell me, you gotta
Who threw the stone to trouble the waters
Costas has been hit in the head too many times. His life like all liberals has been in fish bowls and ivory towers. He should quit pontificating on guns.
Bob Costas: "Guns are bad... This message brought to you by Budweiser and Ford... mix responsibly"
The trouble is, saying anything about the gun culture, or gun control is like hitting a beehive with a rock. Better run fast. I thought Costas' remarks were just fine....and of course the gun nuts go predictably crazy, they're so afraid someone will round up their guns. It probably was a bad decision for Costas to criticize the machismo crowd that watches football. They're very sensitive men.
You do realize that the segment of the population buying guns faster than any other is women right?
So much for machismo.
This crap is bull!!! Having a gun is not the problem!!!! what about having a bow and arrow like the sniper a week ago, should we not have bow and arrows now? What if he were to use some other object like a knife, do you melt all the knives down in the world?.... what would you cut your steak with? Or what if he beat his wife with an object and killed her with a bat? Do you curse the day baseball was invented and burn all the bats in the world. Its idiotic comments and small minded people that would blame having a gun.... and not blame the person!!!! So before people like Bob makes some stupid comment to the world about having a gun, they should really think about it, and trust me, I have had a member from my own family murdered.... that doesnt mean all guns should be banned!
I am a traffic accident investigator. The number of people killed by automobiles is thousand of folds over firearms. They are not the same but there are similarities. It is my personal belief that following automobiles all guns ought to be registered, licenced and all using them tested and licenced. But what do I know? Comments don't kill people. Commentors do.
How about the number of "Mystery Accidents" every year in the United States. These are accidents that have no viable cause. It turns out that many of the so called "Mystery Accidents" are suicides. Some of them are murder-suicides. Do we order all drivers in each state to undergo psychiatric evaluations to determine if they are going to kill themselves in an automobile? I agree with you GMC WDY. Looking at the numbers on the other side of the coin can be very instructional. I was a Police Sergeant in Houston for a long time. Most people don't understand where you're coming from but, sadly, I understand.
56,000,000 people were murdered by there own governments, in the 1900's. Before they could achieve this. The governments disarmed there citizens. I hope this answers this stupid sports announcers question about what I think of his STUPID opinion. No one should impede our 2ND Amendment Rights. He can have his own views. I will keep my firearms.
Costas is an ass. This jerk has no idea what is going on outside of his lost surroundings. Also radiomk is also an ass
"If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today." This is a possibility. On the other hand, if Jovan Bellcher was hell bent on killing Kasandra Perkins, in lieu of a gun he could have used a butcher knife or a baseball bat. I was a Police Sergeant in Houston for many years. If people get angry or depressed enough, they will use whatever weapons are readily available. It is very possible that Ms. Perkins and Mr. Belcher would still be dead even if the gun had not been available. I am not for gun control. However, the sale of a firearm from Wal Mart or traded at a gun show needs to be cleared through law enforcement before the sale is final. In other words, we need to make sure that every firearm sale has a legitimate paper trail and the person buying a firearm is cleared to make that purchase is cleared by law enforcement. This will keep the Second Amendment in place and we will have done all that we can to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. By the way, Mr. Costas, you may have only implied gun control on television, but you put those words in writing here on this page. It doesn't matter in what context you used it. When people see the term "gun control" in any context you lose about two thirds of your audience. Try being a little less insensitive before you speal and especially when yo write!
Finally, a light amongst the darkness. Yes, it is the gun culture that is raging out of control and most of the comments gun lovers above have missed that point. It is also the power over someone else that gives people who are gun lovers. It is a form of bullying. People who hunt with permits, are sportsman but people with guns that are inappropriate for anything except murder are just adding to the gun culture. It is out of control, just read about the murders and mass murders that occur every day in the United States. It is very sad. Guns do kill.
Eric - you very badly need to read. I have a permit, but it isn't for hunting. It's for SELF DEFENSE. I'll leave being a victim to you and the rest of the anti-gun folks, and I'll go ahead and continue to be prepared should I ever need to protect my family.
Cars kill more people than guns. My dangerous assault Honda gives me the power of life or death over anyone I come in contact with in my mighty machine. ROAD RAGE is the bullying of the age. Trucks need to be banned because you can never survive a wreck into one. Who cares if prices triple, at least the highway carnage would stop. Licensing drivers does NOT stop the murders of motorists. The cars are being used as murder weapons and nobody cares.
Wait - cars and trucks are inanimate objects as are firearms. It's PEOPLE who are the problem, not mechanical devices. Let's ride horses and rid ourselves of evil cars. The police will then be VERY slow in responding to knife weilding men carving up families.
Eric-535069 must be one bloodthirsty individual to want to return to the age of swords and knives. I guess he never watched the videos of terrorists carving off peoples heads.
Is comment is on of ignorance and pushing his beliefs on others.
With his comments made it is to be said that teenagers with cars are more likely to kill someone then a teenager that doesn't. That teenager without a car has just as much of a chance to kill someone by the actions they take as does the one with the car, it is all about the person's choices.
It is not the object or tool that one possess that will cause them to react a certain way. It is the way someone will react with that object. The person is the one making the decision not the object.
If this guy still has a job at the next football game I have lost all faith in the quality announcers that NBC has and there for will not be watching them for anything.
Why isn't Costas calling for a ban on fossil fuels? Diesel and fertilizer killed HUNDREDS in Oklahoma City.
Maybe we should ban clueless journalists.
Costa needs to explain what he means by gun culture. The hunters in America? The people who compete on their abilities with targets, turkey shoots where prize is a turkey for Thanksgiving? How about collectors who never shoot them? Now he has targeted what is being called good old boys, well if war ever came to USA I sure would want a good old boy to defend me. Costa has made matters worse and needs to retire by being fired. He has cost NFL and NBC a lot of fan base.
Perhaps Mr. Costas is referring to law enforcement. Maybe the police are responsible for this "gun culture". I have a license to carry in Texas, but I don't carry. Nonetheless, I still keep a handgun near my bed at night. I live by myself. If someone enters my home unlawfully, I will defend myself and my home. I have no desire to harm anyone, but I will protect myself in my own home. Does that make me part of Mr. Costas' "gun culture"? I think not!
Why doesn't he go for bow and arrow control or better yet knife control, since these both been have been involved in muders recently. These items don't kill people, people do and they will always find a way.
So, this smug, arrogant prick believes in the 2nd Amendment? Really? Yet he rails against "aggressive young men subject to impulses". So I guess by this sanctimonious, self appointed decider of who qualified to exercise their Constitutional Rights would deny these 65 Americans the ability to own a firearm just because they're young athletes. Of course, not mentioned by this bigot is that the majority of these 65 athletes are black.
Time for this prick to go.
No one ever got hurt by holding a football.
Its not until its used that players get hurt, brain damage, killed, paralyzed, etc.
Too afraid to criticize football Bob?
Alcohol kills many more people each year than guns do. How come nobody ever talks about banning alcohol? Calm down! I'm not suggesting we ban alcohol. I'm only trying to bring balance to this discussion. A large percentage of us (even the ones who won't admit it) have driven drunk. Is a vehicle, in the hands of a drunk, any less dangerous than a handgun wielded by a deranged madman? We don't talk about banning cars because they fall into the hands of drunks. Stop blaming the tools and start blaming the individuals who use them badly.
They tried banning alcohol once with a Constitutional Amendment called "Prohibition' In the early 20th Century. The only people with booze were Organized Crime and hillbillies. Needles to say, the Ammendment was repealled several years later. The same will happen if firearms are banned. Most of the honest folks will abide by it. Like prohibition the majority of people who will retain firearms will again be mobsters and hillbillies. You can't keep guns out of the hands of ALL the bad guys! This has been a fact since firearms were first introduced to the world.
This tool is a sports commentator because he's unable to do anything else. This is true of most journalists. However, you can't even call Costas a journalist. You stick to the 40 yard fumbles Bob, leave the heavy thinking to those of us more well equipped.