Bryant Gumbel on NRA: 'They're pigs' who 'don't care about human life'

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Bryant Gumbel, former host of The Today Show and current host of HBO's Real Sports, offered harsh words for the National Rifle Association in a recent interview, calling the group "pigs" and "a curse on the American landscape."

When asked by Rolling Stone about a Real Sports piece Gumbel spearheaded about the "Eat What You Kill" movement, Gumbel took the opportunity to clarify that the piece was his only exposure to "killing and guns and hunting," and was not meant as an endorsement of the NRA or gun use.

"There are a few things I hate more than the NRA," Gumbel told the magazine.

"I mean truly. I think they're pigs. I think they don't care about human life. I think they are a curse upon the American landscape. So we got that on the record."

Speaking to Glenn Beck-founded blog The Blaze, NRA News radio host Cam Edwards countered, saying, "The NRA members I know value human life enough to want to protect themselves and their families from those who would do them harm."

"They're not pigs," Edwards offered, adding "They're good people."

The NRA has not offered an official response.