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Bob Costas explains position on guns

LAST SUNDAY, during halftime of the Eagles-Cowboys game, Bob Costas seemed to advocate gun control. In the segment, Costas referenced an article by Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock concerning the recent murder/suicide of Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and girlfriend Kasandra Perkins. Costas said he agreed with Whitlock, who wrote, "If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today."

This Nov. 17, 2010 file photo shows sports commentator Bob Costas at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights 2010 Ripple of Hope Awards Dinner at Pier Sixty in New York. Costas stirred up a hornet's nest Sunday with a halftime commentary about Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher's murdering his girlfriend (and the mother of his child), followed by his own suicide. "If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun," Costas told a TV audience of more than 20 million, "he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today." (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)
This Nov. 17, 2010 file photo shows sports commentator Bob Costas at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights 2010 Ripple of Hope Awards Dinner at Pier Sixty in New York. Costas stirred up a hornet's nest Sunday with a halftime commentary about Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher's murdering his girlfriend (and the mother of his child), followed by his own suicide. "If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun," Costas told a TV audience of more than 20 million, "he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today." (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)Read more
    by BY TOM MAHON, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:mahont@phillynews.com">mahont@phillynews.com</a>
    Published 

LAST SUNDAY, during halftime of the Eagles-Cowboys game, Bob Costas seemed to advocate gun control.

In the segment, Costas referenced an article by Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock concerning the recent murder/suicide of Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and girlfriend Kasandra Perkins. Costas said he agreed with Whitlock, who wrote, "If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today."

There was an immediate backlash as people condemned Costas for mixing politics and sports.

Costas has since gone on a mini-tour of sorts to explain himself.

On Tuesday he was interviewed by the Premier Radio Networks' Dan Patrick and MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.

On Wednesday, he chatted with Bill O'Reilly from Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor."

On Thursday night, he'll be talking about the issue on his own show, "Costas Tonight," with Charles Barkley and John McEnroe weighing in. That show was taped on Tuesday.

"I carry a gun," Barkley says on the show. "But it would take extreme circumstances for me to even touch it."

Costas explained that the halftime segment may have confused some about his position on gun violence.

"Domestic violence is part of it. Drugs and alcohol could be part of it," Costas said. "And I didn't say anything specifically about gun-control legislation or the Second Amendment. I don't want to repeal the Second Amendment. I think we should have responsible gun control, but that wouldn't prohibit somebody from carrying a gun."

Potty mouth

Craig Ackerman, the radio play-by-play man for the Rockets, just became our second-favorite NBA announcer - next to the Sixers' Tom McGinnis, of course,

On Tuesday night, after the Rockets rallied to beat the Lakers, Ackerman shouted:

"The game is over! The game is over! The Lakers have just pooped their big boy pants and the Rockets have come from 17 down to win it, 107-105!"