FILE – In this October 12, 2015, file photo, Manny Pacquiao takes questions at the Asia Society in NY.
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Gay and lesbian groups have called on Filipinos not to vote for the boxing icon for his television comment on same-sex marriage, nearly a repeat of what had happened in 2012 when he quoted from the Bible to warn against homosexual activities. “If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals”. “Have you seen any animal male-to-male or female-to-female relations?”
Nike released a statement, saying it found Pacquiao’s comments “abhorrent”, but that didn’t stop the boxer from continuing his narrative on social media.
“Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community… we no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao”.
“I didn’t say that, that’s a lie”, Pacquiao said in a statement at the time. “His anti-LGBT statement betray a shallow understanding of the issues that are important to us”.
“Pacquiao’s expressions of homophobia and bigotry disqualifies him from being honored, endorsed and sponsored by one of the world’s largest publicly-traded and owned athletic companies, particularly one that is celebrated and well-known for their promotion of sportsmanship and excellence”, Dela Cruz wrote in the petition that had more than 1,600 signatures as of noon Wednesday.
Pacquiao, who is slated to fight Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas on April 9, also cited Luke 6:22-23, Corinthians 6:9-10 and John 8:32.
“I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals”, he wrote. But to people in the United States, his words can only be viewed as hate speech. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt”.
On his Facebook page, Pacquiao also said he remains against same-sex marriage, while insisting that he is “not condemning” LGBT people. He added he did not intend to condemn gays.
Pacquiao’s comments were greeted with revulsion in the US, where same-sex marriage is enshrined in law following a historic US Supreme Court ruling.
Gay marriage is outlawed in the Philippines due to strong opposition from the Catholic Church, with around 80 per cent of the country’s 100 million people subscribing to the faith.
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“Pacquiao’s certainly lost any type of sponsorship”.
