Editing Bob Costas (section)

===Gun culture controversy===
During a segment on the ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' halftime show on December 2, 2012, Costas paraphrased [[Fox Sports (USA)|Fox Sports]] columnist [[Jason Whitlock]] in regard to [[Jovan Belcher]]'s murder-suicide the day prior, saying the United States' [[Gun culture#Present-day gun culture in the United States|gun culture]] was causing more [[domestic violence|domestic dispute]]s to result in death, and that it was likely Belcher and his girlfriend would not have died had he not possessed a gun.<ref name=bi-costasbelcher>{{cite web|title=Bob Costas Got Blasted For His Gun-Control Monologue After Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/bob-costas-gun-control-jovan-belcher-chiefs-murder-suicide-kasandra-perkins-2012-12|website=Business Insider|access-date=December 3, 2012}}</ref>

Critics interpreted his remarks as support for [[gun control]]. Many (including former Republican presidential candidates [[Mike Huckabee]] and [[Herman Cain]])<ref name=guardian-guncontrolmsnbc/> felt Costas should not have used a program typically viewed as entertainment to publicize political views on sensitive topics. [[Lou Dobbs]] criticized his remarks for supporting the abolition of the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] by quoting a [[sports writer]], while [[Andrew Levy]] remarked that he had been given a civics lecture by someone who had "gotten rich thanks in part to a sport that destroys men's bodies and brains".<ref name=nydn-costasguns>{{cite news|title=Bob Costas delivers anti-gun message on Sunday Night Football one day after NFL player Jovan Belcher kills girlfriend, himself|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/costas-delivers-anti-gun-message-sunday-night-football-article-1.1212138|website=New York Daily News|access-date=December 4, 2012}}</ref> However, reporter [[Erik Wemple]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' praised Costas for speaking out for gun control on the broadcast, commenting that the incident's connection to the NFL provided him with an obligation to acknowledge the incident during the halftime show, stating that "the things that [NFL players] do affect the public beyond whether their teams cover the point spread. And few cases better exemplify that dynamic as powerfully as the Belcher incident."<ref name=twp-wemple-costas>{{cite news|last=Wemple|first=Erik|title=Bob Costas, please keep spouting off|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/bob-costas-please-keep-spouting-off/2012/12/03/ab289450-3d67-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_blog.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 4, 2012|date=December 4, 2012}}</ref>

During the following week, Costas defended his remarks in an appearance on [[MSNBC]]'s program ''[[The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell]]'', where he said the remarks were related to the country's gun culture, and not about gun control as critics had inferred. Costas did suggest that more regulation be placed on America's gun culture:<ref name=guardian-guncontrolmsnbc>{{cite news|last=Pengelly|first=Martin|title=Bob Costas defends 'gun culture' comments in MSNBC interview|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/05/bob-costas-gun-comments-msnbc-interview|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=December 9, 2012|location=London|date=December 5, 2012}}</ref>

<blockquote>Now, do I believe that we need more comprehensive and more sensible gun control legislation? Yes I do. That doesn't mean repeal the Second Amendment. That doesn't mean a prohibition on someone having a gun to protect their home and their family. It means sensible and more comprehensive gun control legislation. But even if you had that, you would still have the problem of what Jason Whitlock wrote about, and what I agree with. And that is a gun culture in this country.<ref name=guardian-guncontrolmsnbc/></blockquote>