Leading sports apparel brand Nike has cut ties with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao after making derogatory comments about the LGBT community. Pacquiao told a local television station in the Philippines earlier this week that gay people are "worse than animals."

Not a First for Nike

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

It's not the first time for Nike to drop one of its endorsers who is filled with controversy. The company has terminated contracts with NFL players Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice for domestic and child abuse, respectively. Nike has also cut ties with cyclist Lance Armstrong for doping and Olympic hero Oscar Pistorius for his involvement in a murder case.

Severe Backlash

"It's just common sense. Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?" Pacquiao said. "If you have male-to-male or female-to-female relationships, then people are worse than animals."

Those comments led to a worldwide backslash, especially in his country. Pacquiao is a member of the House of Representatives and a Senatorial candidate in the May elections. Well-known LGBT celebrities in the Philippines have started campaigning against the 37-year-old boxing hero's senate bid.

Pacquiao has issued an apology on Twitter, saying he is very sorry to those people that were hurt by his comments. However, he is not changing his stance on same-sex marriage, quoting a bible verse in a separate post on his Instagram account.

#DropPacman

Rutgers University graduate student Aries Dela Cruz started a petition on Change.org that called for Nike and other companies to drop Pacquiao. Many LGBT activists have started to get the #DropPacman hashtag trending on social media.

The Filipino boxer has many endorsement deals including for Foot Locker, Wonderful Pistachios, Nestle and many more companies in the Philippines. Representatives from Wonderful Pistachios and Nestle have already said that they currently don’t have a contract with Pacquaio.

Wonderful Pistachios spokesperson Jennifer George said in a statement, “Wonderful Pistachios is not currently affiliated with Manny Pacquiao nor do his views align with ours. Wonderful Pistachios stands firmly for diversity and equality and we proudly support marriage equality and inclusion around the world.”