Nike drop Manny Pacquiao over ‘abhorrent’ homophobic comments
Global sportswear giant Nike made an important statement after terminating its sponsorship deal with Manny Pacquiao over his recent homophobic comments likening gay couples to animals.
A Nike spokesperson confirmed yesterday (Feb 17) that the 37-year-old would no longer be associated with the brand, ending an ongoing relationship of more than eight years, reports ESPN.
“We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent,” they said.
“Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community.”
Pacquiao has been at the centre of a storm of controversy in recent days for comments made during a television interview where he said “men [who] mate with men” were “worse than animals”.
“It’s common sense. Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female,” he said at the time.
Apologising within hours of making the comments across his social media channels, the boxer was shown wearing a Nike training shirt.
“I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt,” he wrote.
“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.”
Pacquiao’s boxing promoter Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, told ESPN he understood Nike’s decision.
“Nike is in the business of selling its products to as wide of an audience as they can, and Manny’s comments were insulting to a lot of people,” he said.
“His comments were made to a Filipino audience, where same-sex marriage is not as accepted as it is here, and Manny is a convert of enlightened Christianity, which does not believe in same-sex relationships.
“But to people in the United States, his words can only be viewed as hate speech. If I was running Nike, I would have to make the same decision they did.”
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