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Philippines, 05 May 2024 |
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Mr. Granville Ampong needs to apologize PhilBoxing.com Thu, 17 May 2012  First let us get this straight, Manny Pacquiao never quoted a biblical passage stating that our gay brothers and sisters should be put to death. Pacquiao never stated that same sex marriage is an abomination. Pacquiao did not rip US president Barrack Obama on his support of same sex marriage. These are not his words but that of Examiner.com's Granville Ampong whose column is the center of all this chaos. Mr. Ampong by his creativity and smart style of writing, managed to confused everyone who has read his column that the popular athlete and Philippine congressman uttered those words of hate against the gay community. Mr. Ampong made us believe that Pacquiao is a blood thirsty, homophobic individual who uses his Christian beliefs and popularity to advance this particular cause. Mr. Ampong made us look at Manny Pacquiao in a different way, a bad way with plenty of us wondering what has gotten into him to be able to say these hateful words. People were aghast by this, people were turned off by the man whose humility is a known fact. Is this the new Manny Pacquiao now? Bible toting, homophobic, insensitive, hypocritical and outspoken against one of the most sensitive issues in America? No, this is not the Manny Pacquiao of the past and the present. These views of Pacquiao that we read in the last couple of days are that of a writer with obvious political and social agenda. And this particular writer used his homeland's most recognizable public figure in Pacquiao to further his very biased opinion. And why not, we all know that Pacquiao is one of the most influential figures in the world in sports and culture. He is one of the most searched name in the internet with regards to sports and other popular culture activities of him that arouses the public interest. His popularity is immense and is not limited to his boxing crazy country alone. Which makes him a favorite subject of writing and discussion in the sport of boxing and Philippine media. A subject Granville Ampong has been utilizing to promote his pay for click column at Examiner.com. It is well known that writing about Pacquiao will sure add to the volume of your website's traffic. The subject of Manny Pacquiao sells. Everyone that covers the sport of boxing is aware of it. Everyone in the Philippine press knows that and Mr. Ampong knows that and has been doing it for years. And there is nothing wrong with that, it is the media's role to provide their customers with the product they want and crave. Pacquiao is what they crave, thereby Pacquiao is what they offer. But Mr. Ampong has taken this to the next level. He used Pacquiao's popularity and inserted him in a column that has nothing to do with the sport of boxing or Philippine culture. Mr. Ampong contributes to Examiner.com, a site that accepts contributions in the form of blogs from all over the country on topics that include baking, pet care and food and recipes. Mr. Ampong contributes as the site's expert or "examiner" of boxing, Philippine celebrity and conservative views. He has wrote extensively about Pacquiao , praising and critiquing him in his past articles. This time, Mr. Ampong used Pacquiao's name and stature to emphasis his own objection to same sex marriage and to President Obama who happens to be a Democrat. Mr. Ampong went to Pacquiao's house in Los Angeles with the help of a common friend and informally interviewed the boxer. He asked not of his current training camp or anything related to the sport which is why he is here in America in the first place. He asked him about a subject that trapped Pacquiao, he inquired about his stand in the sensitive issue of same sex marriage that President Obama has thrown his support to and of which Pacquiao replied "God's words first ... obey God's law first before considering the laws of man." That is all Pacquiao said, nothing else. But Mr. Ampong injected a biblical passage that states that gays should be put to death and he made it look like it came from Pacquiao. His way of writing confused a number of writers who has picked up his story believing the harsh quote came from the mouth and heart of the popular sports figure. And we all know the aftermath of it. Pacquiao was unjustly labeled as a bigot in the public eye because of that. A label that is unfitting to a man known to many as soft spoken, humble and kind. Mr. Ampong has greatly damaged Pacquiao's reputation because of his piece. Mr. Ampong made clarifications of his original column in a follow up article posted Wednesday. He clarified Pacquiao did not utter the biblical passage that he so smartly placed in his column. He made it clear that it was his point of view that he was writing about and not that of Pacquiao. He blamed other writers who are employed by respectable publications such as USA Today and the LA Weekly for not comprehending what he is trying to convey in his piece. He blames them and the many who has similar interpretations of his column as the reason why Pacquiao's name was tarnished. It was these "bias writers" fault and he accepts no responsibility in this colossal mess that he created. Mr. Ampong is entitled to his views. He has a right to his opinion. But he damaged a good man's reputation by doing so. He created a piece of writing that mirrors his personal beliefs and made it look like that of Manny Pacquiao. His opposition to Obama and his policies has significantly presented itself in his writing and he attributed that to Pacquiao who is not even a US citizen and has the eligibility to vote in America. Which makes me ask the question. Is this the purpose of Mr. Ampong's column? Pacquiao supported Democratic Congressman Harry Reid in his last campaign. Reid benefited from the big Filipino and Asian vote in Nevada because of Pacquiao's endorsement. Pacquiao also visited President Obama in Washington last year with the help of Reid making him a noticeable present in the two prominent figures of the Democratic party. And now that President Obama has verbalized his support to the issue of same sex marriage, an issue that Mr.Ampong has strong disapproval for; I again question myself if Mr.Ampong has hidden motives in his writings. Did Mr. Ampong used Pacquiao's Christian and Catholic belief to contrast that of President Obama's support of gay rights? Did he used the popular boxer to go against the policies of President Obama? Did he try to show to the large Filipino and Asian voting block that the athlete they admire is not supportive of President Obama who incidentally is up for reelection this year?Did he purposely do that to discourage support for President Obama this November? Whatever Mr. Ampong reasons are , it matters not anymore. He has damaged a man's reputation and Pacquiao is now suffering the consequences from it. Pacquiao is now vilified in the public eye because of remarks that is falsely attributed to him. All because of Mr. Ampong's misleading and confusing piece of writing. Mr. Ampong has called on those so called "bias" writers to apologize to Manny Pacquiao because of what they wrote. But maybe, he should cease blaming others and take responsibility on the hurt he has caused himself. Maybe it is time for him to stop pointing his finger and blaming others for the division and disharmony that he created and instead look at himself in the mirror and contemplate on what he has done. And maybe find it in him to apologize to Pacquiao, to the Filipinos who were thrown into confusion and disunity and most of all to those that were hurt by his inconsiderate article. Mr. Ampong has strongly advocated Catholic and Christian virtues in his work, maybe it is time that he practice to become one. You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece. Click here for a complete listing of columns by this author. Click here for a complete listing of this author's articles from different news sources. |
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