Pacquiao backpedals, deletes post quoting Bible verse saying gays should be 'put to death'
If Manny Pacquiao is truly sorry for offending gays with his controversial comments this week, he's going to have an even tougher time convincing people his remorse is sincere.
The boxing icon enraged the entire LGBT community when he said homosexuals are "worse than animals" in discussing his opposition to same-sex marriage. Among those coming down hard against Pacquiao, who is also a congressman in his native Philippines, has been Nike (one of his sponsors), Bob Arum (his agent), Jason Collins (the NBA's first openly gay player) and Magic Johnson (basketball Hall of Famer, whose son is gay).
Pacquiao did post an Instagram apology Wednesday in which he apologized for "comparing homosexuals to animals" and that while he wasn't changing his opposing opinion of same-sex marriage, the boxer said "I'm not condemning LGBT."
However, a separate Pacquiao post Wednesday was reported live on his Instagram account for approximately two hours before it was removed. And this apparently quoted a Bible verse that called for the killing of anyone who has sex with his/her own gender. (ABC-CBN pulled/posted the screengrab below)
The post reads in its entirety:
This is actually not the first time Pacquiao has seemed to endorse capital punishment for homosexual acts. Back in 2012 he faced scrutiny after being accused of similarly believing gays should be "put to death" -- but somehow he's been able to explain it away as simply voicing "just his opinions."
Four years later in the current climate, and frankly with the end of his athletic career expectedly one fight away, he likely will not get off the hook as easily.
