US
sports equipment giant Nike on Wednesday axed Manny Pacquiao after he
described gay couples as “worse than animals”, slamming the Filipino
boxer’s remarks as “abhorrent.”
A Nike statement said the company had
severed its ties with Pacquiao, who triggered a firestorm of controversy
with his comments to a Filipino broadcaster earlier this week.
“We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent,” a Nike statement 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… we no longer have a relationship with
Manny Pacquiao.”
Nike’s move was welcomed by gay rights campaigners in the Philippines Thursday.
“Philippine LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender)and allied groups plus Nike’s enlightened stand has
struck down the fundamentalist posturing of a bigot who wants to be a
senator of the land,” said Danton Remoto, head of Ang Ladlad (the
Unfurled), a gay rights political party.
Devout Christian Pacquiao, 37, who is
running for a seat in his country’s Senate, had issued an apology soon
after the controversy erupted.
“I’m sorry for comparing homosexuals to
animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt,” Pacquiao said in a
video post on Instagram, his arms crossed.
Pacquiao said he was not condemning homosexuals but was standing by his conservative Christian faith.
“I love you all with the love of the Lord. I am praying for you.”
Pacquiao told television station TV5
earlier this week: “It’s common sense. Do you see animals mating with
the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from
female.”
“If men mate with men and women mate with women, they are worse than animals.”
Pacquiao’s comments were greeted with
revulsion in the United States, where same-sex marriage is enshrined in
law following a historic Supreme Court ruling.
Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete in the NBA, dismissed Pacquiao as “bigoted.”
“I lost all respect for you,” Collins
wrote on Twitter. “Bigoted people like you (yes you are one) should
never hold an office in politics.”
Pacquiao’s long-time rival Floyd
Mayweather — who outclassed the Filipino in their money-spinning
mega-fight last year — also took aim at the remarks.
“We should let people live their lives
the way they want to live their lives. To each his own,” Mayweather was
quoted by TMZ Sports as saying.
While homosexuality is not criminalized
in the Philippines, gay marriage is outlawed due to strong opposition
from the Catholic Church and 80 percent of the country’s 100 million
people subscribe to the faith.
But Pacquiao’s remarks angered some of his compatriots.
Singer Aiza Seguerra, who recently
married her actress-girlfriend in the US, called on Filipino voters to
boycott Pacquiao, who is preparing for his last boxing fight with
Timothy Bradley in April, calling him an “ignorant, bigoted hypocrite”.
“You just showed the whole country why we shouldn’t vote for you,” Seguerra said in a post on Instagram.
Filipino sports analyst Ronnie
Nathanielsz told AFP there was a genuine risk Pacquiao would lose other
international endorsement deals following Nike’s action.
“It will hit him in the pocket for sure,” Nathanielsz said.
The Nike endorsement, whose terms were not disclosed, was Pacquiao’s most prominent sponsorship deal.
Forbes.com magazine put his earnings for 2015 at $160 million including $12 million from endorsements.
