

The NBC presenter Bob Costas has used an interview on MSNBC to clarify comments that he made regarding the case of Jovan Belcher, the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker who shot his girlfriend and then himself in Kansas City on Saturday morning.

Costas said that in his 90-second piece to camera at half-time in Sunday's match between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles – in which he cited a column by a Fox Sports Midwest writer, Jason Whitlock, which included the words "our current gun culture simply ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy" – he had been talking about gun culture in the US, rather than gun control.

Costas's comments led to a media storm, after Fox News hosts and rightwing politicians including two former candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, Mike Huckabee and Herman Cain, censured Costas for speaking on a political subject – gun control and the second amendment to the US constitution, which protects the right to bear arms – while presenting a sports programme.

On Tuesday, speaking on MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Costas said: "What I was talking about here, and I'm sorry if that wasn't clear to everyone, was a gun culture. I never mentioned the second amendment, I never used the words 'gun control'. People inferred that.

"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."

Costas elaborated by mentioning the shootings in a movie theater in Aurora, Colarado in July, in which a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58.

"[Gun culture] demonstrates itself in different ways," said Costas. "It demonstrates itself in the Wild West, Dirty Harry mentality of people who actually believe that if a number of people were armed in the theater in Aurora, they would have been able to take down this nutjob [sic] in body armor and military style artillery. When in fact almost every policeman in the country would tell you that that would have only increased the tragedy and added to the carnage."

Details of Belcher's actions on Saturday morning were reported on Tuesday, including his conversation with Chiefs staff members at Arrowhead Stadium in the moments before he killed himself.

Referring to the story, Costas said: "Give me one example of an athlete – I know it's happened in society – but give me one example of a professional athlete who by virtue of his having a gun, took a dangerous situation and turned it around for the better. I can't think of a single one. But sadly, I can think of dozens where by virtue of having a gun, a professional athlete wound up in a tragic situation.

"The ready, easy availability of guns makes mayhem easier. If somebody points out that the country has a problem with nutrition and obesity, that doesn't mean they're going to ban fast food. But they are making you aware of some of the dangers and hoping to moderate peoples' behavior. And if nothing else, even if some people disagree with me or misinterpret what I said, if it started a conversation then I think that's a good thing."