Reggie White Angers Gays... Again

Green Bay Packers star Reggie White again is speaking out against homosexuality, appearing in a national newspaper advertisement and taping a commercial against same-sex marriages.

White and his wife, Sara, were in Green Bay on Wednesday to tape the commercial, which is expected to air in Hawaii, family spokesman Bill Horn said. Voters in that state are considering a constitutional amendment allowing same-sex unions.

"They're standing on what they believe," Horn said of the Whites.

"They believe marriage is important and should be between one man and one woman. It's encouraging other people around the nation to be just as bold."

The taping followed a full-page advertisement Wednesday in USA Today, featuring White in his Green Bay Packer uniform above the headline "In defense of free speech."

The $63,000 ad, in the newspaper's main section, was paid for by a coalition of 15 Christian groups, including the Christian Coalition and American Family Association.

The pro football player also is pictured with his wife.

One gay-rights activist in Green Bay said White has a right to speak his mind, but he objected to the Packers star wearing his uniform.

"He should have been wearing his minister's garb, not his Packers uniform," Dan McDonough said. "I don't appreciate his using his persona to hurt people."

McDonough argued against the advertisement's message, saying his deceased mother was a Baptist and his deceased father a Catholic, and they respected him.

"They said, `Here is this person I love,"' McDonough said.

Another full-page ad in USA Today's lifestyle section was bought by 12 gay-rights organizations and promotes their view that people who are gay have a right to dignity and fairness.

White's views on homosexuality have drawn criticism before. He ignited criticism from across the country when he addressed the Wisconsin Legislature in Madison earlier this year and declared that homosexuality was a sin that has been allowed to "run rampant."

White later said he did not mean to offend people. Howeer, in speeches and television appearances since then, his views on homosexuality have not changed.

Horn said White planned to concentrate on football as the season approaches. Packers veterans report to camp in Green Bay on Friday.

"I know that Reggie is focused on making it the best season ever and getting back to the Super Bowl," Horn said.

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