14 DAY TRIAL // NBC broadcaster Bob Costas is telling supporters he is not backing down from his stance on gun control, or the lack thereof.
Costas grabbed everyone's attention with his liberal commentary made during halftime on Sunday Night Football. He took a stand by emphasizing that, were gun permits better regulated, the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker tragedy could have been avoided.
Jovan Belcher shot his long-time girlfriend and the mother of their 3-month-old daughter over her being late coming home from a concert. He then drove to Arrowhead stadium where he took his own life, as we reported.
Despite facing media and fan backlash, Costas “sticks to his guns” on the issue.
“I am emphatically not backing off from anything I said,” he states to the New York Times.
On Sunday, December 2, he had quoted from an article by Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock. This time, Costas uses his own words to express his views.
“I do not think the Second Amendment should be repealed and I do not think, under reasonable circumstances, that people should be prohibited from having guns.
“I think most reasonable people think we do not have sufficient controls on the availability of guns and ammunition.
“Common sense tells us the culture is overrun by guns and that many people who possess them are dangerous or careless,” he comments.
Among those who disagree with Costas is right-wing musician Ted Nugent, who yesterday slammed the sportscaster's remarks on Twitter.
“#BobCostas has clearly lost his mind. Inanimate objects are the problem not murderers. Brilliant,” he writes, noting people are to blame for crimes, and not the weapons they use.
Responding to those who dubbed his commentary inappropriate on a sports segment, Costas writes their criticism off as a pretext, used to hide their opposing view on the matter.
“[They] would have thought it was fine if they agreed with what I was saying,” the anchor says in his interview. He also argues that NBC permits him to turn his reports into editorials, if they are related to the field of sports.