Bob Costas' halftime speech during the 'Sunday Night Football' game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys is drawing a lot of next-day attention.(Photo: Matthew Emmons, US Presswire)
NBC's Bob Costas,
communicating through a spokesman Monday about on-air comments about
guns he made Sunday night, "feels an unfortunate leap was taken that he
was advocating taking away Second Amendment rights. He was not."
Costas
declined comment to an interview request from USA TODAY Sports to speak
about comments he made during NBC's NFL coverage Sunday night. But NBC
spokesman Greg Hughes says,"In a short (on-air) time period he can cover only one aspect of a complicated issue. So he quoted (columnist Jason Whitlock)
about the gun culture and an almost Wild West attitude in parts of this
country. He is pro-sensible gun reform and pro-attitude adjustment on
guns."
In his 90-second on-air comments Sunday that have drawn criticism in cyberspace, Costas discussed Kansas City Chief linebacker Jovan Belcher shooting girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and
then committing suicide with a gun. Costas' conclusion: "If Jovan
Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be
alive today."
Monday, NBC spokesman Hughes added that Costas is
"in favor of people owning guns to hunt and carrying them in reasonably
controlled circumstances."
USA Today