Nike cancelled its endorsement deal with Manny Pacquiao after the news of the boxer's controversial comment to same-sex marriage sparked violent reactions from the LGBT community.
"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," Nike said in a statement, according to ESPN. "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 issued a public apology, through a video posted on his Instagram account, explaining his side of the story.
Manny Pacquiao received criticisms from fellow Filipinos and international personalities like Perez Hilton after news of him commenting on same-sex marriage went viral, where he compared the people in same-sex relationships to be "worse than animals."
"It's common sense," Pacquiao said, as translated in English, according to The Guardian. "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."
Even with the public apology that has been made by the boxing superstar, the damage made by the incident is irreparable it seems. But there are also those who have expressed their support to Pacquiao on his Instagram account, saying that he is just voicing out his opinion and telling the truth about the Bible.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum gave comments on 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," Arum told ESPN.
"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."
