Manny Pacquiao: Stance on Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Pac-Man's Charm

Whether you agree with Manny Pacquiao's stance on same-sex marriage or not, it's clear by now that Pacquiao has lost some support since his comments.

For the record, Pacquiao never said that gay people should be put to death. That was spread across the Internet when Examiner.com writer Granville Ampong related Pacquiao's stance to Leviticus 20:13, which reads: “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.”

But Pacquiao is against same-sex marriage, that much is clear, and it threatens to create a division between him and the gay community, as well as many who aren't gay. 

In an interview with the LA Times, Pacquiao reiterated his stance:

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"What I said is a reporter asked me about gay marriage...I am against gay marriage, but I'm not condemning gays. I have family—a cousin—who's gay, and friends too. I'm just against gay marriage. I don't even want to talk about the issue, but I was asked about it, so I gave my opinion."

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Pacquiao was largely considered to be an endearing and charming individual before this comments. He was the good to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s bad, and a Filipino Congressman at that.

He was largely respected throughout the boxing community, not to mention the world. While Mayweather, his nemesis, built up his bad-boy reputation, Pacquiao remained the humble, soft-spoken individual he had always been.

That's not to say that Pacquiao isn't still widely respected, but throwing his perspective out on a highly divisive and controversial issue in America probably wasn't the best idea. His stance has already seeped into the conscience of America, where it is sure to churn and churn again.

Some may never forgive him for saying gay marriage was against the law of God, even if they understand he wasn't saying they should be put to death.

Whether you agree with Pacquiao's opinion or not, you can't deny this does stand to hurt his image throughout the world, whether it be for the short term or the long haul.