Manny Pacquiao apologizes, but stands by the Bible.
Boxing star, Manny Pacquiao, now has lost a major endorsement: Nike, due to his abhorrent anti-gay comments, reports the Civil Rights Movement. Pacquiao said, among other things, that “homosexuals” are “worse than animals.”
“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,” said Nike during a TMZ interview.
The comments made by the boxer were immediately reported by Yale Scientific online.
“It’s just common sense,” Pacquiao said to a TV network according to the Chicago Tribune. “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?” He then said animals are better than gay people because they can tell the difference between genders, although homosexual behavior has been documented in over over 450 different animal species worldwide, according to a Yale Scientific online.
Pacquiao is currently running for a Philippine Senate seat. [pullquote]He then said animals are better than gay people because they can tell the difference between genders, although homosexual behavior has been documented in over over 450 different animal species worldwide, according to a Yale Scientific online.[/pullquote]
Many reacted strongly to the boxer’s comments and heavily criticized him for it.
“He is running for a national position and he should be a senator of everybody, not just over-the-hill boxers and straight people,” Danton Remoto, chairman of the LGBT group Ladlad, said to the Chicago Tribune.
Pacquiao apologized on social media.
“I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,” he said in a Facebook video, now also on YouTube. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.”
He asked for forgiveness again in an Instagram post.
“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,” he posted.
Pacquiao is a current member of the House of Representatives. To read more about this story, click here.
