Bob Costas Keeps His Focus on Guns and Violence

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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,” t aped 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.”

Mr. McEnroe endorsed the efforts of Mayor Bloomberg to get guns off streets in New York. “I feel safer without it,” he said in response to Mr. Barkley's argument that a gun made him feel safer. “I've got to say I think that there are just so many bad things that could happen,” Mr. McEnroe said.

On the program, Mr. Costas again addressed what he said was a misunderstanding about the commentary he delivered Sunday night, which was mainly a series of quotes from a column written by the sportswriter Jason Whitlock. Mr. Whitlock, who writes for Fox Sports, called on the N.F.L. to postpone Sunday's game between the Chiefs and the Carolina Panthers out of respect for Belcher's murder victim, Kasandra Perkins, who is the mother of their 3-month-old daughter.

Mr. Costas, who has been criticized by supporters of gun ownership rights, said these critics had accused him of laying blame entirely at the feet of the so-called gun culture.

“Domestic violence is part of it,” Mr. Costas said. “Drugs and alcohol could be part of it. 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.”

Bill Carter writes about the television industry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.