Nike Drops Manny Pacquiao For A Second Time After Anti-Gay Remarks

(Photo by Jeoffrey Maitem/Getty Images)

Manny Pacquiao wore the white hat in the buildup to last year’s Fight of the Century with Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao was the God-fearing congressman from the Philippines, who had reformed his gambling and womanizing ways. Mayweather abused women and wore the heal label with his Money Mayweather moniker. The fight was a bust in the ring, but the narrative sold with a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and $600 million in total revenue.

Now Pacquiao’s religious beliefs are hitting his pocketbook after he said same-sex relationships were “worse than animals” in the middle of a Philippines senate campaign. Sportswear giant Nike NKE +0.66% dropped Pacquiao as an endorser today and released the following statement:

“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.”


This is not the first time Nike dropped Pacquiao as an endorser. Nike did not renew their partnership after it expired at the end of 2012. There were calls for Nike to drop Pacquiao in the first half of that year when he made similar comments about same-sex marriages, but Nike waited to see Pacquiao’s performance in the ring. It wasn’t good. He lost both his fights, including a devastating knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012. Almost all of Pacquiao’s endorsement partners walked away at that point with Pacquiao looking like a shot fighter. Nike walked away too, according to Pacquiao’s camp.

Pacquiao returned to the ring in November 2013 and registered two straight wins, which brought Nike back to the table in the second half of 2014. Nike launched a line of hoodies and t-shirts in April 2015 ahead of the Mayweather bout. Pacquiao’s camp hoped defeating Mayweather would send sales skyrocketing for the Nike line with Pacquiao sharing in the profits. Instead, Pacquiao had a listless performance against Mayweather and blamed it on a shoulder injury. Sales of the Nike Pacquiao line have been limited and royalties were expected to generate less than $1 million this year for Pacman

Pacquiao was the world’s second highest-paid athlete last year with earnings of $160 million thanks to the Mayweather bout. He earned $12 million outside the ring from endorsements, licensing and appearances. The Mayweather fight brought his career earnings to $485 million. Endorsements represent less than 10% of the total. Pacquiao is scheduled to face Timothy Bradley for the third time on April 9. Pacquiao says it will be his final fight so he can concentrate on his political career.

Pacquiao invoked his religion in his first apology regarding his anti-gay comments: “I rather obey the Lord’s command than obeying the desire of the flesh. I’m not condemning anyone, but I’m just telling the truth of what the Bible says.”

He followed with a second “apology” delivered via video over social media: “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.”

Pacquiao joins other scandal-plagued athletes dropped by Nike including: cyclist Lance Armstrong, running back Adrian Peterson, quarterback Michael Vick, running back Ray Rice and sprinter Oscar Pistorius

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbad...nd-time-after-anti-gay-comments/#2707ced5fabc

 

I hate when people regurgitate what the bible tells them. Have you own beliefs on the matter. If you believe being gay is wrong, have more reasoning behind it than "I'm told its wrong by a book".

 

What makes you think it is not his own beliefs? Jesus never taught anywhere in the New Testament any thing against a gay person. To the contrary, one can take his teachings as guidance for men to accept that there are people that do not (should not) marry the opposite sex (Matthew 19). This is not to say that meaning of the word Marry includes same sex marriage, but to accept that some will not marry the opposite sex.

As with many of the teachings of Jesus, he teaches against the old teaching of Mosaic time contained in the old testament. In this case he refutes the teaching of Laviticus. Also he surely reversed the old law about stoning people. One thing though and this is a personal opinion of mine, that Gay would be wise to consider, Laviticus called lying with a man an abomination. Then Jesus come along and tell us we should accept this as a normal human reality, the gay person should understand that nothing Jesus can say will make the straight person want to hear tales of the lying. The revulsion associated with the abomination is also normal. We must refrain from the Stoning, help up also not suffer the revulsion.

 

Most of the world thinks like this. Then again, most of the world is in severe poverty with no education.

What people fail to understand is that we are basically global 1%ers and our views are really not how the rest of the world lives or thinks.

 

Isn't the lack of education, the most severe poverty?

 

No. You can be highly educated and that doesn't mean jack shit. Its what you do with it.

 

Ha! Right again but I don't think you justified the No.

 

Spoken like a 1%er with no real knowledge of the real world. :MARIS61:

But seriously, not everyone needs an education, some people are meant to live in a cardboard shack and rummage through garbage. Some people will live simple lives, they don't need to know about science and math and philosophy. None of that matters in the real world where people are just living out in a 3rd world country. What for? Some people do manual labor, no education and make a good living and are happier than corporate drones who do what they are expected to do and live the life they are expected to. That's just as much of a wasted life than a poor family in a 3rd world country.

And you have people who are highly educated and waste their lives doing jack shit. Happiness is relative.

 

And its a total joke this guy is a senator. The Philippines is totally fucked, people there are idiots.

 

Once again, Manny Pacquiao removes all doubt simply by opening his mouth.

 

I think you confuse education with credentials.

 

80% of the world doesn't need education. There's no hope for them to be anything.

 

And there we have it! The reason people vote for stuff. Give me stuff!

 

80% of the world doesn't "vote for stuff". Only the 1% (like you) are allowed to vote for stuff.

 

Solution is population control for these poor, ignorant countries. Zika Virus, son.

 

Actually I do not. And people all over the world, including the USA vote for stuff. Stuff is what the Bern is all about.

I do happen to agree with your larger point though, population growth is rapidly becoming a big big problem and it will make it easier for the pipe pipers to get the vote with the offer of less and less stuff.

 

Wow this thread


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

 

His views are less extreme than that of the Religion of Peace.

sent from a phone you've probably never heard of

 

His reasoning is based upon his beliefs so...

 

Now this is some bullshit...