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American sports apparel giant Nike has cut its sponsorship ties with boxing star Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines due to recent controversial comments he made about homosexuality. However, Pacquiao said he understands Nike’s decision and doesn’t have a problem with it. The boxer said he’s simply quoting the bible and doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage. Soon after Pacquiao’s comments were made public, Nike released a statement which said it strongly opposes all types of discrimination and then severed its ties with the 37-year-old.

However, many people find this move by the company to be highly hypocritical. Nike doesn’t appear to have any problem selling goods and making money in Middle Eastern countries where homosexuality is deemed illegal and even punishable by death in some nations. But the company does have a problem with an individual speaking his religious beliefs which come directly from the Bible. Pacquiao converted to Christianity in recent years and his comments were made to TV5 network.

Pacquiao, who has a record of 57-6-2 with 38 Kos, later came out and apologized if he hurt anybody’s feelings, but stood pat when it came to his beliefs. The eight-division world champion said he doesn’t condemn homosexual people, but doesn’t agree with the act of same-sex unions. He stated, “What I said is a reporter asked me about gay marriage. I am against gay marriage, but I’m not condemning gays. I have family — a cousin — who’s gay, and friends too. I’m just against gay marriage. I don’t even want to talk about the issue, but I was asked about it, so I gave my opinion. I mean I am just stating the truth, what the Bible says.”

Pacquiao is hoping to win a seat in the Filipino Senate in an upcoming May election and one day hopes to become the nation’s president, so the timing of the controversy couldn’t have come at a worse time. He’s also in training for his April 9th bout against American Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao hasn’t fought since last May when he lost a decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and recently underwent shoulder surgery. His upcoming fight against Bradley in Las Vegas will be their third meeting with each boxer winning a bout by decision.

It seems Pacquiao upset most people when he said animals can distinguish between male and female and they don’t have same-sex relations with each other, therefore in a way homosexuals are worse than animals. He later said he was sorry for comparing people to animals, but was just trying to get his point across. In his homeland of the Philippines, homosexuality isn’t a crime, but same-sex marriage isn’t allowed by law. The boxer also posted a video apology which said, “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I’m praying for you.”

It appears to many people that Nike simply disagrees with Pacquiao’s religious views and feels that’s reason enough for pulling out of their deal with him. In the eyes of many, Pacquiao’s actually the one being discriminated against here simply due to his religious beliefs and by people who haven’t bothered to read what he actually said. If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s that in today’s age of political correctness it’s probably better to keep your opinions to yourself as you’re bound to be accused of being anti-something or another.