Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is still attempting to dig himself out of an avalanche of controversy before he returns to the ring this fall.
The 37-year-old, who was elected to the Filipino senate in June, sparked global outrage in February when he claimed that gay people were “worse than animals” while speaking out against same-sex marriage in an interview.
“Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? The animals are better,” Pacquiao, who is a conservative Christian, said in the interview, according to CNN. “They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals.”
The comments were enough to prompt Nike to drop its longtime partnership with Pacquiao, who is the only 8-time world champion in his sports’ history. Seven months later, however, the boxer says he regrets the remarks ― well, sort of.
“I’m not changing my position from what the Bible says,” Pacquiao, who is coming out of retirement to face off against Jessie Vargas on Nov. 5, told TMZ, as seen in the video above. “My mistake is just comparing them to animals. I’m just human. Nobody’s perfect.”
Pacquiao’s explanation, as flimsy as it was, merely echoes sentiments he offered in February, shortly after the controversy broke. In an Instagram video, he told fans that he was “sorry for everyone who got hurt due to my comparison of homosexuals to animals.” Still, his opposition to same-sex marriage didn’t budge, and in a separate post, he said he’d “rather obey the Lord’s command than obeying [sic] the desires of the flesh.”
Sorry, Manny. If you’re expecting us to accept the apology, you’re gonna have to try a little bit harder than this.
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