Sports and politics should not mix and if anyone doubts
that, the problems between Nike and Manny Pacquiao should settle that argument
once and for all. Nike has announced that they are ending its endorsements with
the Filipino boxer after he described gay couples as "worse than
animals".
Naturally, the remarks are a big no-no for a big Western
company like Nike but there was a good reason why Pacquiao said those things. Pacquiao
has retired as a boxer and is now a politician. More importantly, Pacquiao is
running for a seat in his country's Senate and in a devoutly Christian country
like The Philippines, saying things like this gets you votes. If he was
American, people would say Pacquiao was waving red meat.
Not to say he was right, but everything has context and that’s
what happened here. Like all politicians, Pacquiao is saying what he needs to
in order to get the votes. Fans of the boxer better get used to it; it’s going
to happen again and again in the future.
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