Update!

Bob Costas' Football Night Gun-Control Commentary Bashed by Herman Cain, Ted Nugent, Fox News

Fox News anchors and others on the right take aim at NBC sportscaster for his on-air editorial in the wake of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killing his girlfriend and himself

By Peter Gicas Dec 03, 2012 8:15 PMTags
Bob CostasNBC Photo: Steve Freeman

Bob Costas is being criticized by some for a commentary on gun control he delivered yesterday during halftime of Sunday Night Football.

His remarks came in the wake of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killing his girlfriend before fatally shooting himself on Saturday.

"If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today," Costas said, quoting from an article by Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock, during his 90-second speech.

Costas' stance and on-air editorial subsequently became a topic of discussion on the Fox News morning program Fox & Friends on Monday.

"When people, unfortunately, want to kill other people, there's a lot of ways to do it," cohost Gretchen Carlson said. "So, I don't know. Would the rage have come out in a different way? Would he have strangled her? ... Nobody will ever know or not if he would have killed her with or without a gun."

Added Carlson's coanchor, Brian Kilmeade: "I just don't know if it's appropriate enough on a Sunday night, less than 24 hours after the guy took his own life and killed his girlfriend and the mother of his baby, to make that stance...I don't really think we needed to hear that last night."

Meanwhile, former Republican presidential candidate Hermain Cain tweeted, "You tune in for a football game and end up listening to Bob Costas spewing sanctimonious dreck."

Conservative rocker Ted Nugent also shared his thoughts, posting, "Blaming guns for crime is like blaming helmuts [sic] for headbutts. WTF Costas! Uve lost it."

UPDATE: In respone to the backlash he has received, Costas told the New York Times, "I am emphatically not backing off from anything I said," but emphasized, "I do not think the Second Amendment should be repealed and I do not think, under reasonable circumstances, that people should be prohibited from having guns," calling for "a combination of enlightened legislation and controls, coupled with an adjustment in our attitude toward guns."

What do you think of Costas' commentary? Sound off in the comments!

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