By Ray Ender
There has been a lot of controversy swirling around about Filipino boxer Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s view on American President Barack Obama’s pro-gay marriage stance.
A writer named Granville Ampong from the Examiner website inserted quotes from Leviticus 20:13 “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads,” misleading people to think the quote came from Pacquiao himself when it was Ampong who self admittedly added it.
Manny Pacquiao sat down with The Associated Press at his home in Hollywood to clear up the misleading article from Conservative blogger Granville Ampong:
“I’m not against the gay people,” Pacquiao said. “I’m not condemning them. … I have a cousin (who is) gay. I have relatives (who are) gay. I have a lot of friends (who are) gay, so I’m not condemning gays. What I said is I’m not in favor of same-sex marriage. That’s the one thing I said to the guy.
“I told (the reporter) I’m against same-sex marriage,” Pacquiao added. “He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘It’s the law of God.’ That’s all I said.”
“My favorite verse in the Bible is ‘Love one another,’ and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself,'” Pacquiao said. “It’s in the Bible: Do not judge. I’m not judging.”
After the intense backlash and controversy surrounding the issue with Pacquiao, Obama, and gay marriage, undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. chimed in on Twitter to give his opinion on the subject:
I stand behind President Obama & support gay marriage. I’m an American citizen & I believe people should live their life the way they want.– Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Some are questioning if Mayweather’s response is opportunistic and hypocritical since he was seen on HBO 24/7 calling his father a “F^ggot” on an episode of 24/7 and making fun of boxer Miguel Cotto for sleeping in the same bed with his male best friend.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. will serve time in jail on June 1, 2012 for a domestic violence charge after assaulting the mother of his children Josie Harris, and Manny Pacquiao will fight Timothy Bradley the following week June 9th on HBO pay-per-view. The two controversial boxers have yet to square off in the ring for what would be the most anticipated and lucrative fight in boxing history.
