After making uninvited comments about the name of the Washington Redskins during Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, NBC’s Bob Costas defended his remarks on Dan Patrick’s radio show on Monday morning.
Costas compared the feedback to the backlash he received over his gun control comments after the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chiefs’ Jovan Belcher, according to a transcript from The Washington Post. He told Patrick, “it’s much more muted than the gun thing, and any negative reaction comes from an extreme fringe. I had much more time this time.”
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“I wasn’t even calling for a specific action,” Costas explained, “although I was implying it. What I was asking the audience to do was to consider that even though — and I went out of my way to say this — CLEARLY no offense is intended,” he said.
He then admitted that most Native Americans are not offended with the name, but that since other people might be, it should still be changed.
“I noted that the best polling we have at this point — we may get new polling — but the best polling we have at this point says that a majority of Native Americans say it’s not particularly an issue for them. But for many, it is,” he told Patrick.
He also said that Redskins owner Dan Snyder has “backed himself into a corner.”