Nike Urged to Drop Pacquiao for Anti-Gay Marriage Speech
9,703 
39
One of the world's pound-for-pound boxing kings of this era, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, has dug himself a huge hole with his recent statement made against gay marriage. It is a well known fact that Pacman is a highly religious individual. He kneels down in the corner of the ring and prays to God before and after every fight that he has. It is because of this that he voiced his opinion negatively against President Obama's recent announcement that he supports gay marriage.
"God's words first ... obey God's law first before considering the laws of man. God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other. It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old."
It is because of this ill-advised statement that one of his major sponsors, Nike, has been pressured to drop Pacman from their endorsements by The Courage Campaign. Nike has always been an advocate supporting the equality of marriage over the years, and The Courage Campaign feels as though Pacquiao is tarnishing their "pro-equality" stance on gay marriage, for they feel as though he is a "negative role model."
Pacquiao has since come forward to defend his comments, saying that he does in fact not believe that gay people should be allowed to marry due to his religious beliefs. However, he has firmly denied allegations that he quoted from the Book of Leviticus 20:13 in the Bible. Pacquiao has stated that he hasn't even read the book of Leviticus yet, and that journalist Granville Ampong added that part himself. Ampong has supported Pacquiao's denial of citing Leviticus, and admitted that he added that part to Pacquiao's speech on his own.
Here is what Pacquiao said in his defense:
"I didn't say that, that's a lie ... I didn't know that quote from Leviticus because I haven't read the Book of Leviticus yet. I'm not against gay people ... I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way. What I'm critical off, are actions that violate the word of God. I only gave out my opinion that same sex marriage is against the law of God."
The Book of Leviticus speaks on gay people being put to death, so this is why Pacquiao has so adamantly denied saying this.
Source: thinkprogress.org
