Broadcaster Bob Costas on Tuesday said the Manhattan gunman who shot and killed four people at a New York office tower on Tuesday had unreasonable grievances with the National Football League (NFL).
Authorities said shooter Shane Tamura ended up in the wrong office but was targeting the NFL headquarters to address chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), from which he said he suffered after playing high school football, according to a letter found on his body.
“CTE and football are inseparable, but the idea that this guy had a legitimate grudge against the NFL is ridiculous,” Costas said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Cuomo.”
“The NFL in the last decade has responded as best they possibly can. Unless you’re going to stop playing football, you can only make it less dangerous. You can’t make it completely safe,” he added.
CTE is linked to repeated head trauma and can cause emotional distress, mood swings and impact an individual’s behavior, according to Harvard Health.
“The guy is out of his mind. He had mental health issues, and just because he targeted the NFL shouldn’t make people think that there’s even a scintilla of justification or rationalization for what he did,” Costas said.
After fatally shooting four individuals and wounding others, Tamura turned the gun on himself. New York police are still investigating the underlying motive behind the rampage.
