Nike Pulls Pacquiao Endorsement Contract Over Anti-Gay Remarks

MANILA, Philippines (CelebrityAccess) — Nike has pulled the plug on an endorsement contract with Filipino world champion boxer Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao over his derogatory remarks directed at same-sex couples.

"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," Nike said in a statement. "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 made the comments on a Filipino television station earlier this week. "Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?" he said. "If you have male-to-male or female-to-female [relationships], then people are worse than animals."

He quickly back-tracked from the controversial and factually incorrect statement, taking to Twitter to apologize, stating: "I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. lease forgive me for those I hurt. God bless!"

Pacquiao has had an endorsement deal with Nike for a little more than 8 years. – Staff Writers