This week we move up in stature with our ass of the week award. In fact we are going all the way to nearly the top in giving the award to Manny Pacquiao who did more in one interview to tarnish his legend, name, and brand then any loss in the ring could have ever done. He went from the ultimate good guy to one of the most loathed in no time flat.
In a recent interview with the Examiner, Manny professed his belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman and not two of the same sex. Fair enough. Half of the population agrees with him. It also appears he was at least partially misquoted when he added that gays should be “put to death” while quoting a verse of the bible. Whether he said it or not no longer matters. The damage is already done.
When you are in a business that pays you based almost as much on your personality as it does talent, you need to be pretty smart. So when you are held up as a good guy and questions start to come at you on controversial topics, run the other way. Nothing good will ever come of it. Manny decided to be honest and give his true feelings. That may work for him in a place like the Philippines, but obviously nobody ever told him what expressing right leaning views in a place like Los Angeles will get you.
Immediately he was banned from the popular hangout The Grove in L.A where he was to give an interview. That’s right, he was banned from a public place in the United States for giving his opinion! As hard as that may be to believe, it is now a matter of time before all his sponsors leave in droves. Tiger Woods lost all his for being a whore, imagine the reaction Manny will get for being a homophobe!
Besides all the outside problems it causes, you have to wonder how this would affect his marketability in the ring, particularly if he ever signs to fight Floyd Mayweather. The beauty of that fight was that it was so easy to market as “good vs. evil.” Now what? it is a lot harder to sell evil against evil. The media has enjoyed pushing Floyd as the ultimate bad guy, a persona Floyd has embraced. Of course in Manny, they had their hero, a guy who was the champion of every man.
In one moment all that was gone. Manny is going to find out what it’s like to be on the wrong side of the press for once. No longer will he be adored and loved no matter what he does. Instead every mistake and flaw will come under close scrutiny. Surely millions and millions of dollars were lost because of him opening his mouth earning him the Ass of the Week Award.
