Wow, Bob Costas sure did whip up a frenzy over his comments on gun violence! During halftime of the Eagles-Cowboys game Sunday night, Costas brought up the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide. He quoted FoxSports columnist Jason Whitlock's harsh words about handguns and added, "If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today."
Now Costas is saying he made a "mistake" in editorializing about gun control during Sunday night's game. He clarified that he is not calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment. But he's also not back-pedaling on his position! If anything, he wishes he could have said more.
Costas said Tuesday on The Dan Patrick Show, "My mistake is I left it open for too much miscommunication." It wasn't that his remarks were inappropriate. It's that there just wasn't enough time for him to do the subject justice. "A discussion should ensue about the football culture, the gun culture, domestic violence ... Those issues need to be discussed if we’re looking for some kind of elusive perspective."
Some viewers called for Costas to be fired. Others, including The Stir's Jenny Erickson, feel he should stop using a shooting crime to justify his gun control views. But one thing is for sure -- Costas got our attention.
Costas' editorializing wedged the door open to a conversation about gun control in a new and completely necessary context: The context of professional sports. He's right -- there's a lot going on there in football culture that needs to be examined. And the subject goes beyond gun rights. It's about masculinity and violence. I hope Bob Costas gets a chance to have a longer, more thoughtful discussion on Jovan Belcher's tragic story and its implications. Because you can't keep talking about football and ignore the uncomfortable baggage that comes with the game.
Do you think Bob Costas was wrong to editorialize on gun violence during Sunday's game?
Image via mrplowjrezv/YouTube
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Comments 2
It was the wrong forum. This program isn't about the football culture or the impact of football on the greater culture etc.. It's about the game of football.
There's a gazillion programs where cultural and political issues are debated. Fooball is part of the culture so it should be a subject of those debates when these things come. And it should be debated and discussed, not just one guy grabbing the microphone (that he was give to discuss the GAME) to give his one side.