US sports equipment giant Nike on Wednesday axed Manny Pacquiao, while prospective sponsors for his April 9 fight with Tim Bradley are withdrawing after he described gay couples as ?worse than animals.?
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.
Pacquiao
?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.?
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum revealed yesterday that Top Rank prospective sponsors are withdrawing from the April 9 fight between Pacquiao and Bradley.
?They?re pulling out,? a problematic-sounding Arum told the Manila Bulletin yesterday in an interview from the US.
Former Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello said Pacquiao faces multimillion dollar suits should he unilaterally cancel his fight with Bradley.
Lucia McKelvey, Top Rank?s executive vice president for marketing, was working on a contract renewal for Pacquiao with Wonderful Pistachios but the 84-year-old Arum bared that it ?didn?t want anything to do? with the promotion.
Nike, which also severed ties with cycling legend Lance Armstrong and one-legged sprinter Oscar Pistorius, was first to pull the plug on Pacquiao.
Pacquiao has a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike until the end of 2017 but it was forced to disassociate itself with the eight-division champion owing to the magnitude of what he delivered on TV.
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.
Remoto said Ang Ladlad is ready to accept Pacquiao?s apology, but his remarks will never be forgotten.
Mike Koncz, the Canadian adviser of Pacquiao, has urged his boss to put on hold all requests for interviews.
?This has erupted into a tremendous explosion,? said Koncz yesterday from General Santos City where Pacquiao is spending the first half of training camp with Freddie Roach.
Koncz could not divulge how much was Nike?s contract with Pacquiao but he fully expected the backlash. Pacquiao has been Nike?s endorser the last eight years.
?I knew they?d do that,? said Koncz, recalling an incident several years ago when Pacquiao issued a similar comment against the LGBT while in the US.
Aside from Nike, Pacquiao also used to be the brand ambassador of Wonderful Pistachios, Nestle, and even Foot Locker in the US.
Here in the Philippines, the 37-year-old Pacquiao has deals with Pizza Hut, Smart Communications, East West Bank, Bench, Ricoa, Motolite and Kia Motors but Eric Pineda, who handles his endorsements, said he hasn?t received any communication so far regarding possible withdrawals like what Nike did.
Koncz is so worried over Pacquiao?s comments that the thought of the Bradley fight not taking place has entered his mind.
?My concern now is the possibility of the fight being scrapped,? added Koncz.
Pacquiao, 37, a devout Christian who is running for a seat in the Senate in the May 9, 2016 elections, 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. (With reports from Ben R. Rosario and Francis T. Wakefield)
