Nike reacted quickly over Manny Pacquaio’s anti-gay remarks and dropped Pacquaio as an endorser. The sportswear multinational giant released the following statement to explain their decision:
“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. We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao.”
In a recent interview, Manny asserted that same-sex relationships or unions as worse than animals. Manny is running for a Senate seat in the coming national elections in the Philippines which will be held in May.
Being the international celebrity that he is, Manny’s anti-gay remarks immediately drew criticisms in the Philippines and worldwide.
Manny issued an apology, after the video clip of the interview created an uproar among netizens. He clarified that he does not condemn gay people, he just made a mistake in comparing them to animals. He reiterated though, that he remains firmly against the idea of same-sex marriage.
But Manny’s apology came too late. The damage has been done, and his attempt to woo back the LGBT community to his side could not erase the hurtful words he said about gays. Perez Hilton even described Manny’s comment as “barbaric”.
Ever since Manny made those homophobic remarks , a lot of people have been urging Nike to drop Manny as their endorser. Nike is one of Manny’s major endorsement deals, earning him millions of dollars throughout his career.
But according to Forbes, this is the not the first time that Nike removed
Manny from its roster of endorsers. Nike did not renew Manny’s contract when it expired in 2012.
Manny lost two fights that year, including that knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez. Nike signed Manny again, prior to his fight with Mayweather in 2015.
Nike’s move to drop Pacquaio was lauded by a lot of celebrities including NBA legend Magic Johnson. Even Bob Arum, the boxing promoter who played a major part in Manny’s successful boxing career, agreed with Nike’s decision.
SOURCE : http://goo.gl/CII2QV