MANILA, Philippines – NBA Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson said on his Twitter account on Thursday, February 18, that he applauds Nike for terminating its endorsement deal with Manny Pacquiao in the wake of his anti-gay comments.
The 37-year-old Pacquiao, an 8-division boxing champion, said couples in same-sex marriage are “mas masahol pa sa hayop (worse than animals)" in a viral video released by Bilang Pilipino/TV5.
“I applaud Nike for terminating Manny Pacquiao’s contract after his derogatory statements that gay people are worse than animals,” said Johnson, a 5-time NBA champion.
The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar, 56, also said that even gay fans supported Pacquiao’s mega fight against Floyd Mayweather last year. Johnson also insisted that he won’t be watching any more of Pacquiao’s fights.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I applaud Nike for terminating Manny Pacquiao's contract after his derogatory statements that gay people are worse than animals.</p>— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/status/700130773433655296">February 18, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fans of all walks of life including gay fans supported May/Pac fight putting $100M in his pocket. I guess to him their money is still green.</p>— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/status/700131481532825600">February 18, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I won't be watching another one of Manny Pacquiao's fights.</p>— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/status/700132056165171201">February 18, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Pacquiao, a two-term congressman who is running for a seat in the Philippine Senate, did apologize later on, saying “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.”
However, that still did not stop Nike from dropping him.
“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," Nike said in a statement.
“We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao."
Even Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, denounced Pacquiao’s comments and called them “reprehensible.”
Pacquiao’s comments have have hit Johnson personally, since his son, Earvin III, is openly gay.
Pacquiao will face Timothy Bradley Jr for the third time on April 9 in what Pacquiao says will be the final fight of his career. – Rappler.com