[locutus]

Some blithering jackass on the half time show just gave a blistering attack on handgun ownership, and whined that the Kansas City player and his GF would still be alive if he hadn't been able to possess a handgun.

I almost lost my dinner. This kind of krap is totally inappropriate for a football game. OTOH, it was on CBS, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

[texaswoodworker]

Always blame the tool, not the person who used the tool.

[Mosin]

How many football players have suffered permanent injury including death, from the highschool level to the pros?


High school football players alone suffer 43,000 to 67,000 concussions per year, though the true incidence is likely much higher, as more than 50% of concussed athletes are suspected of failing to report their symptoms.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1957459,00.html



The only logical thing to do here is blame the ball.

[axxe55]

totally inappropriate in light of what just happened. sad the incident happened, but that's no reason to blame the instrument for the situation that happened.

[rhyno13]

I saw that also. I felt a surge of rage rise up in me to the point that if I were in the next chair, I would have just slapped the hell out of him.

[Mosin]

I want... SO SO WANT. A motivational poster. One with a gun on it, that reads,

GUNS...
The one thing that can cause Christians and atheists, to band together and best your ass over!

[shadamai]

Anyone else notice Bob Costas give an anti-handgun speech at halftime of the Cowboys game?

"You knew it was coming. In the aftermath of the nearly unfathomable events in Kansas City, that most mindless of sports clichés was heard yet again, ‘Something like this really puts it all in perspective.’ Well if so, that sort of perspective has a very short shelf life since we will inevitably hear about the perspective we have supposedly again regained the next time ugly reality intrudes upon our games. Please.

Those who need tragedies to continually recalibrate their sense of proportion about sports, would seem to have little hope of ever truly achieving perspective. You want some actual perspective on this? Well a bit of it comes from the Kansas City-based writer Jason Whitlock, with whom I do not always agree, but, who today, said it so well that we may as well just quote or paraphrase from the end of his article. "Our current gun culture," Whitlock wrote, “ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead. Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it. In the coming days, Jovan Belcher's actions, (and its possible connection to football), will be analyzed. Who knows? But here, (wrote Jason Whitlock) is what I believe, If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.”


You can watch the video here:
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2012-articles/december/video-bob-costas-halftime-essay-delves-into-jovan-belcher-and-gun-control.html

Another article here:
http://seattletimes.com/html/sports/2019816349_apfbnplayershootingcostas.html

[beaglesam]

I did see that. Just another non gun owner that doesn't have clue.

[shadamai]

Originally Posted by beaglesam

I did see that. Just another non gun owner that doesn't have clue.

I agree. When he said that handguns tempt 'us' to get into confrontations and escalate arguments, I wondered, who is this 'us'? He obviously doesn't own any himself. I and the handgun owners I know avoid bad situations and would rather just walk away than escalate a 'confrontation.'

I thought it was poor taste to include that in the NBC halftime program.

[WebleyFosbery38]

Luckily, I cant stand most organized sports so I dont have to endure the irony of idiots that use the phrases, "Lets go out there and Kill them" or "Drive them into the ground" or "hit him so hard he doesnt wake up until after the games over" saying "Guns are dangerous"!!!!!

Like the Son of Sam coming out on TV for PETA saying, "We should all listen to what our pets are trying to tell us"! Its ridiculous and disingenuous to think that this suicidal tragedy is any measure of a Social Norm that needs attention by Linebackers in riot gear!

Yesterday,
1000 young adults gave up their futures to mass procreation (not a word from the NFL),
100 Kids died in Auto crashes that would have been ok if they stayed home and Studied for tests (Silence from the NBA).
500000 children had no dinner but their parents made sure the Cable TV was working (Nothing from the Pro Wrestling)
500 people were Raped, abused and treated worse than garbage (The NHL has no comment)

Yup, some idiot with a bright future did shoot an innocent person with a gun but it wouldnt have mattered if all he had was a 5 gallon can of Gas, dead is dead! My only wish was he had decided to shoot himself first!