By Lee Roberts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 7, 2012) – Sportscaster Bob Costas fired up gun-rights supporters on NBC’s Sunday night football programming when he blamed lenient gun laws for the murder-suicide perpetrated this past weekend by Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker Jovan Belcher.
According to Mail Online, Belcher, 25, shot and killed his girlfriend Dec. 1, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and shot himself in the parking lot.
(Bob Costas explains his controversial comments on “gun culture” on the O’Reilly Show on Fox News Dec. 5)
If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today,” Costas said.
Politico reported that gun activists were quick to oppose Costas, and conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh shot back on the radio, “It’s typical left-leaning ideology where gun-related deaths are blamed on the trigger and not the person who pulled it.”
The Chicago Tribune reported Dec. 3 that according to police, “Belcher shot himself in the head in a parking lot in the presence of team personnel that included (Coach Romeo) Crennel and General Manager Scott Pioli.”
Rush Limbaugh discusses the comments the day after Bob Costas addressed gun laws during Sunday night football Dec. 3. (Audio/DailyRushbo.Com)
According to Politico, Limbaugh, the radio icon with the golden microphone, said the typical reaction of liberals is to blame gun laws and attack the Second Amendment, which he called a “cop out.”
Limbaugh added, “It’s very easy to blame the gun, and you score a lot of points by doing what Costas did. You can score a lot of points by doing what (Kansas City-based writer Jason) Whitlock did. You can score a lot of points with your bosses. You score a lot of points with the people that you want to score points with. Just come out against the gun. Just come out for gun control.”
According to Mail Online, Costas told sports radio host Dan Patrick Dec. 4 that he wanted to bring attention to domestic issues as well as gun rights issues. He added he should have not attempted to cover a tough issue in only 90 seconds.
The Mail Online report estimated that from about 100 tweets that immediately responded to Costas’ remarks, more than 95 percent of them “expressed annoyance and outright disagreement, with only a few in favor.”
In the Politico report, Limbaugh said Costas gave his point of view “because it was supported by the left-leaning agendas of his bosses.”
