The move by Nike to drop Pacquaio was rumored to be forthcoming by TMZ early Wednesday and was confirmed when Nike made the announcement mid-afternoon. The shoe and athletic gear company has displayed solidarity with the LGBT community in the recent past, having established the Nike Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Friends Employee Network and hosted the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Sports Summit on their Oregon campus.

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This is not the first time Nike has had to deal with Pacquiao’s controversial views on marriage and same-sex relations. Pacquiao, who was elected to the Philippines House of Representatives in 2010, came under fire in 2012 when he made similar statements in which he disagreed with President Obama’s stance on same-sex marriage in an interview with examiner.com and later offering an explanation to The Associated Press:

“I’m not against the gay people. I’m not condemning them. … I have a cousin [who is] gay. I have relatives [who are] gay. I have a lot of friends [who are] gay, so I’m not condemning gays. What I said is I’m not in favor of same-sex marriage. That’s the one thing I said to the guy.

The decision by Nike, which has removed all Pacquiao-related clothing from its online stores, comes just months before Pacquiao is expected to compete in his final bout, an April clash with American boxer Timothy Bradley that will presumably signal the end of Pacquiao’s historic boxing career. His official career record currently sits at 57-6-2

However, in a recent interview with AFP, Pacquiao was not as dead set on referring to the Bradley fight as his last foray in the ring, saying “you never know” twice:

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“It’s hard to say right now,” Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, told AFP in an interview when asked about retirement. “I made my decision already that after this fight I (will) retire. But I am not saying that, you know, boxing is closed to me. You never know.”

The comments were made after he issued his online apology Tuesday but prior to his being cut by Nike. Although the specifics of Pacquiao’s deal with the company is not final, it would appear unlikely that any of the remaining major athletic brands will step in and fulfill Nike’s role as full-time sponsor given the public backlash Pacquiao has faced and given that he has a single fight left in his career, making him a limited active asset.

With regards to his personal finances, Pacquiao faced tax evasion charges from his home country’s government, with the Bureau of Internal Revenue claiming he owed $75 million in unpaid taxes, but was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2014. He has since apparently been paying his taxes and, according to Forbes, recently bought a $12.5 million house in Los Angeles.