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After stirring some intense debate with his comments last Sunday about how the easy access to a gun may have contributed to the murder committed by Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs and his subsequent suicide, the NBC sportscaster Bob Costas has continued to take his argument to more forums — including his own.
On “Costas Tonight,” his talk show on the NBC Sports Network, to be telecast Thursday night, Mr. Costas again thrashed out the issue of the prevalence of guns in American society, this time with two guests, the former basketball star Charles Barkley and the former tennis champion John McEnroe.
Mr. Costas has also scheduled an appearance Wednesday night on Bill O’Reilly’s top-rated cable program on Fox News.
On “Costas Tonight,” taped Tuesday night, Mr. Barkley said that owning and carrying guns were part of what he termed “black culture,” announcing on the show, “I carry a gun” — specifically, one in his car for last 20 years. Having that access to a gun, he said, makes him feel safer because “we jocks get robbed all the time.” He said, “I feel a sense of peace when I have it with me, but it would take extreme circumstances for me to even touch it.”
Mr. McEnroe, on the other hand, made much the same points that Mr. Costas had in his commentary Sunday and in an interview with The Times on Monday, saying that “there are too many scenarios that would make it that much easier to pick up a gun and do something.” Read more…