NFL Player Goes on the Offense

The speech by the 13-year veteran of the National Football League and defensive lineman for the 1996 Superbowl champion Green Bay Packers covered a broad range of issues facing America today. Among other things, he said society must confront such matters as absentee fathers, disobedient children, high incarceration rates for those in the black community, and an overall lack of compassion for other human beings. But what has embroiled one of the NFL's most beloved stars in controversy are two sections of the speech in which he appeared to endorse racial stereotypes and described homosexuality as a "sin" which has "run rampant" and put "our nation in the condition it is in today."

White, who is an ordained minister and preaches regularly in his time off from football, was invited to speak before the state legislature by Speaker of the House Scott Jensen (R). Jensen's spokesperson Steve Baas said Jensen has been working with White and his wife Sara to expand an urban outreach and renewal program, called "Urban Hope," which White runs in Green Bay. According to Baas, Jensen told White that he could speak about anything he desired, but noted that legislators would be particularly interested in White's recent trip to Israel and in his Urban Hope program.

Twenty-five minutes into the speech, after comparing America to Rome before its fall, White began discussing homosexuality. An audio recording of the speech posted on the Internet by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal newspaper records White saying, "As America has permitted homosexuality to establish itself as an alternative lifestyle, it has also reeled from the frightening spread of sexually transmitted disease. Sin begets its own consequences, both on individuals and nations."

"I've often had people ask me, 'Would you allow a homosexual to be your friend?'" continued White. "Yes, I will. And the reason I will is because I know that that person has problems. And if I can minister to those problems, then I will."

White said he takes offense to comparisons between civil rights for Gay people and civil rights for black people, arguing that homosexuality is a "decision, it's not a race."

State Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) said she has received more correspondence over White's remarks than on any issue. (by Clint Steib)

"And when you look at it, people from all different ethnic backgrounds are living this lifestyle," said White, who is black, "Some people from all different ethnic backgrounds are also liars, and cheaters, and malicious, and back-stabbers. We're in sin. And because this nation is in sin, God will judge it if we don't get it right."

"Here's a popular sports figure, a celebrity and even a hero to millions. Young people view him as a role model," said Jubi Headley, executive director of the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum in a statement to the press issued by his group and two others — the Human Rights Campaign and the National Latino/a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organization. "How will these comments impact black Gay and Lesbian youth? What message is he sending to young heterosexual people about the civil rights of our community?"

The portion of the speech dealing with homosexuality lasted just under five minutes. Earlier in the speech, recounting something he said he learned from a friend, White listed what he called the "gifts" with which individuals within a number of racial and ethnic groups have been "blessed." He said that black people have been blessed with the gift of "celebration," white people with "structure and organization" and in knowing "how to tap into money," Asians as being "creative and inventive," and, Latinos as gifted in "family structure."

"You see a Hispanic person," said White, "he can put 20 to 30 people in one home."

White then explained, "When you put all of that together ... it forms a complete image of God."

White is often admired not only for his achievements on the football field, but for his commitment to being a role model for youth off the field and to reaching out to the communities in which he has played. In the early 1990s, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, White began a street-corner youth outreach program, which he led every Friday after team practice. His Urban Hope program in Green Bay is a continuation of that Philadelphia effort. In 1996 and 1997, after White's church was destroyed in what appeared to be part of a series of arson attacks on black churches around the nation, many commentators publicly lauded White's reserve in refusing to react with statements which may have further heightened tensions in the racially charged situation. In his 13 years in the NFL, White has never run into trouble with the law or drawn negative publicity to himself or his team.

"It was shocking to many of us in the legislature," said openly Lesbian Wisconsin State Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) of White's remarks. "And I was, on a personal level, both sad and angry with the remarks. ... I recognize that Reggie White is a role model to so many young people. And it frightens me when a Reggie White engages in spreading stereotypes and makes very derogatory remarks about Gays and Lesbians as well as women."

"How will these comments impact black Gay and Lesbian youth?" asked Jubi Headley. (by Clint Steib)

Baldwin, who has appeared on the cable sports network ESPN discussing the speech, said she has received more correspondence from people, in areas all around the country, expressing their dismay over White's remarks than she has received on any issue in the past.

Baas, House Speaker Jensen's spokesperson, said his office has received an unusually high volume of correspondence about the remarks. But Baas said the responses coming into his office have been "10 to 1" in support of White for having the courage to say what he believes.

"It's a shame that the bulk of Reggie's message, which was one of unity and compassion and all of us having to look past ourselves to help those in need, was lost in the focus on a few minutes of controversial comments he made during a 50-minute speech," said Baas. Baas also noted that Rep. Jensen felt the speech was, overall, positive.

Both the NFL and the Green Bay Packers declined to comment on either White's speech or the possibility that he would be censured for it. A Packers spokesperson told the Blade that the team has a "broad philosophical policy" against any kind of bias, but said that there are no written policies governing the team's actions when a player is judged to have engaged in such bias. Similarly, an NFL spokesperson said the league maintains no policy governing what a player says off the field. But, he added, the league has the option of addressing players' off-the-field actions and comments on a "case-by-case basis" when they are believed to be "detrimental to the league."

White, who still has four years remaining in his contract with the Packers, has reportedly been considering retiring before the start of next season. Throughout the off-season, sports commentators have speculated that White plans to join CBS Sports for the highly publicized re-launching of its Sunday afternoon NFL package this fall. (CBS lost broadcast rights to the coveted NFL package four years ago after carrying it for 38 years; in January, the network paid the league $4.4 billion to regain those broadcast rights for the next eight years and has been scouting popular figures to fill broadcasting positions.)

But CBS Sports spokesperson Leslie Anne Wade hinted on March 26 that White, who reportedly auditioned for a commentator's job recently, would not be considered for a position due to his remarks. According to a USA Today Sports report, Wade responded to questions from reporters about the potential ramifications of White's remarks by saying, "CBS has a hard and fast policy against bias at all times. The situation is clear. Anyone who violates the policy of the corporation cannot be an employee of CBS." The Blade was unable to reach anyone at CBS Sports for further comment on White by publication deadline.

Three national Gay organizations which issued a press release criticizing White's remarks also sent letters both to the NFL, asking the league to censure White, and to Campbell's Soup Company, asking the company to stop using White as a spokesperson.

In the letter to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the organizations wrote, "The NFL has an obligation to make sure that players, including White, do not abuse their positions as professional athletes to put forward political and personal opinions that contradict the tradition of fairness that is the hallmark of the NFL." White did not present himself as a representative of the NFL or the Packers during the speech, but said he was speaking as a minister.

HRC spokesperson David Smith said neither the NFL nor Campbell's has responded to the letters. In addition, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is urging people to contact the NFL to express outrage over White's remarks and ask that he be forced to apologize.

For White's part, he is not backing down. In an interview with the Washington Post on March 26, White declared, "I'm not changing. I'm not backtracking on anything I said."

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