NBC Sports host Bob Costas, after saying it was “entirely appropriate” to exploit the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher to push for more gun control, suggested sports could be used to change people’s attitudes toward and marginalize guns.
“There are times when sports becomes not only a place, but at times the place to talk about certain social issues,” Costas said, after adding that he was against high-capacity magazines and so-called assault weapons and those in support of them were not reasonably interpreting the Second Amendment.
Costas implied sports, as a dominant cultural institution, could play a role in marginalizing guns without “rescinding” the Second Amendment. He also compared guns to Big Macs, cigarrettes, and racist remarks.
“We have been able to change the culture in many areas without outlawing things … there are certain remarks that used to be commonplace–racist remarks, homophobic attitudes that have marginalized without rescinding the First Amendment,” Costas said.
He continued: “McDonald’s offers salads, as well as Big Macs. We didn’t outlaw Big Macs … we changed some people’s attitudes. Cigarettes remain a legal product, but the culture has changed.”
Costas made his remarks in an interview with CNN’s “Reliable Sources” that aired on Sunday.
After Belcher’s suicide last December, Costas used his national forum during halftime of NBC’s broadcast of “Sunday Night Football” to push for gun control, attempting to make the cultural impact he discussed in the interview.
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