"A respected role model such as Reggie White should be sending messages that foster respect and seeking to bridge gaps that divide us, not widen them," HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch said. "His comments clearly come from a place of ignorance. He has demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge of who gay people are and used false stereotypes of others races. It would send a chilling message if he were allowed to continue as a spokesman for the Campbell Soup Company."

Jubi Headley, executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum, said, "Here's a popular sports figure, a celebrity and even a hero to millions. Young people view him as a role model. 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?"

Olga I. Orraca Paredes, co-chair of LLEGO, said White's statements "ridicule just about every ethnic group in America."

HRC, LLEGO and the Forum sent letters Friday to the Campbell Soup Co. and the National Football League. They asked Campbell's to dismiss White, citing the company's non-discrimination policy.

"We sincerely hope you will reconsider using White as a representative for your products," they wrote to Campbell President and CEO Dale F. Morrison. "Given that the Campbell Soup Co. has as a non-discrimination policy that covers sexual orientation, as well as race and ethnic origin, it would be inconsistent to employ as a company spokesman a man whose beliefs and public statements contradict that very policy."

They asked NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to publicly censure White. "He appeared before the Wisconsin Legislature because of his public profile as a football hero," they 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."

The three leaders praised CBS Sports for reacting quickly to White's remarks, but asked why White's current employers have been silent on the controversy.

"CBS did the right thing by rapidly asserting that White is no longer being considered for a job as an NFL commentator," Birch said. "But America wants to know what Campbell, the NFL and the Green Bay Packers are waiting for. It is astonishing that they have allowed such divisive remarks by a high profile representative to hang out there unanswered."

In a speech Wednesday to the Wisconsin Assembly, White, an ordained minister, called homosexuality a sin, and said the plight of gay people should not be compared to that of blacks. He also claimed blacks were gifted at worship and celebration, whites were good at tapping into money and American Indians weren't enslaved because they knew the territory and "how to sneak up on people." He also asserted that Hispanics are gifted in "family structure" and can put 20 to 30 people in one home, and that Japanese and Asians are inventive and "can turn a television into a watch."

The day after his remarks caused a media firestorm, White was unrepentant. "I'm not backtracking on anything I said," he was quoted as saying in The Washington Post.