Manny Pacquiao, a much beloved fighter in the Philippines and around the world, was interviewed by a local TV station because he's running for a Senate seat and remarked that same sex people who are attracted to each other are "worse than animals." (The video appeared on Facebook.)
“Do you see animals mating with the same sex?”
He originally defended his comments, but then realized he had endorsements to protect and backed down.
Nike, was not in the forgiving mood:
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the conservative Christian initially defended the comments: “I rather obey the Lord’s command than obeying the desires of the flesh. Im not condemning anyone, but I’m just telling the truth of what the Bible says.”
However, just seven hours later, the former world champion made a follow-up post in which he apologized for hurting the LGBT community.
“I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,” he wrote. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt. I still stand on my belief that I’m against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I’m not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I’m praying for you.”
On Wednesday, Pacquiao sponsor Nike announced it “no longer [has] a relationship” with the boxer.
“We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent,” a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement. “Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community.”
It appears that making disgusting comments in the political arena is all the rage these days, all around the world.
