Nike drops Manny Pacquiao after anti-gay comments

Nike terminated its endorsement contract with Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday after the boxer's derogatory comments when he said people involved in gay relationships were "worse than animals."

Pacquiao, 37, was widely criticized by same-sex marriage and gay advocates after he responded to a question to Filipino senate candidates from a television network that aired Monday in his native country.

Pacquiao, currently a member of the House of Representatives in the Philippines, later defended his opposition to same-sex marriage but apologized Tuesday.

"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," Nike said in a statement Wednesday. "Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."

During the Filipino TV interview earlier this week, Pacquiao said: "Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations? If you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals."

Pacquiao said Tuesday on his Facebook page he was "just telling the truth of what the Bible says" before later posting an apology.

"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals," Pacquiao said in a Facebook video message in Filipino while wearing a Nike shirt with the special logo the company had for him. "Please forgive me for those I've hurt. I still stand on my belief that I'm against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you."

Pacquiao, who has won titles in eight divisions during his prolific fighting career, plans to retire from the ring after an April 9 bout in Las Vegas against Timothy Bradley Jr. in which Pacquiao will be guaranteed to earn $20 million.