The latest WWE news is that Dave Bautista is extremely upset with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao for recent controversial comments that he made about gay people, according to TMZ. The former WWE Heavyweight Champion reminded the reporters that his mother is a lesbian, so he takes personal offense to what the legendary boxer thinks about homosexuals. Bautista also states that an apology would do nothing.
There’s sometimes a special bond when two people share the same ethnicity. Dave Bautista had that with Manny Pacquiao at one point in time. Back in 2009, when Pacquiao was fighting British boxer Ricky Hatton, it was Bautista that was chosen to walk him down to the ring. At the time, Bautista stated his admiration towards Hatton, but he had to side with Pacquiao out of a sense of patriotism since they are both Filipino.
The bond between Dave Bautista and Manny Pacquiao is apparently no longer there. Now that he has been featured in Guardians of the Galaxy and portrayed a James Bond villain in Spectre, Bautista receives a lot more attention from TMZ reporters that lurk at the Los Angeles International Airport. One of them brilliantly asked Dave how he felt about the gay comments made by Manny, knowing that there’s a chance that it might incite some headline-worthy material from the former WWE star.
Headlines were definitely made, as Dave Bautista did not hold back on his true feelings about Manny Pacquiao. Back when he was with WWE, the Washington, D.C., native was actually quite well known backstage for being vocal on things that he cares about. Homosexuality is a sensitive topic because his mother was a lesbian and raised him as a single mom. Bautista never really got to know his father, so he formed an even stronger bond with his mother.
Manny Pacquiao shocked and disappointed a lot of people when he stated that gay people are worse than animals. For much of his career, a lot of boxing fans sided with him over Floyd Mayweather, who has actually wrestled a match at Wrestlemania before, because they felt that Pacquiao was the one that always said and did the right things. There’s a very good chance that Pacquiao lost the respect of many of those people that have rooted for him for years.
The heat on Manny Pacquiao is so bad that Nike dropped him as an endorser. The business relationship between the two sides had lasted eight years, so it had to take something pretty big for them to part ways. The company even issued a statement, saying that the comments made by Pacquiao were abhorrent. Nike made sure to let the gay and lesbian community know that they fully have their support, a brilliant public relations move to ensure that they don’t lose that particular demographic.
Of course, Manny Pacquiao still has a good amount of people who are backing him up. Reports have surfaced that people in the Philippines have started burning Nike products in protest. They feel that the company has turned its back on their hero. Those in that country were not nearly as offended by the comments made by Pacquiao because the population is less accepting of same-sex relationships as their counterparts in the United States.
Manny Pacquiao and his manager both understood why Nike decided to terminate his contract. They even stated that they would have made the same business decision. However, Pacquiao is sticking firmly with his faith. His religion does not allow him to accept homosexuality.
[Featured Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images]