Sports design and marketing giant, Nike, has parted ways with Manny Pacquiao over his recent remarks about same sex couples.
According to the company in a statement,
"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent. Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."
Based on Pacquiao's comments, a spokesman confirmed that he is no longer on the company's endorsement roster. Pacquiao, 37, had endorsed Nike for a little more than eight years.
Earlier in the week on a Filipino TV station, Manny had made the following statement
"Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?" Pacquiao said. "If you have male-to-male or female-to-female [relationships], then people are worse than animals."
However, Manny apologized on Twitter shortly after making the comment.
"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals," Pacquiao tweeted. "Please forgive me for those I hurt. God bless!"
He also clarified his position on the matter on his Instagram page.
According to The Guardian, Manny Pacquiao says that he respects Nike’s decision to sever ties with him over his comments about gay relationships but remains opposed to same-sex marriage and added he’s happy that “a lot of people were alarmed by the truth”.
Pacquiao is an evangelical Christian and has publicly declared his opposition to same-sex unions.
This week wasn't the first time Pacquiao has been involved in a furor over gay rights. In 2012 he was quoted as saying he was against same-sex marriage because "it's the law of God," though he denied implying that homosexuals should be put to death.
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