The attacker was described by Pacquiao’s staff and security men as a white male in his mid-30s. The motive for the attack was not immediately known as Pacquiao restrained his security men and ordered them to release the suspected assailant without reporting the incident to the police.
“He was shouting, ‘F@#* you, F@#* you. You homophobic,” the suspected assailant said according to David Sisson, Pacquiao’s personal assistant.
“Manny told them not to hurt the guy, and said, ‘Let him go, let him go,’” said Sisson, who was at the scene when the incident happened. “I really thought he would hit Manny. He almost got to him.”
Sisson is aware that incidents of this nature could happen following Pacquiao’s recent statement about same-sex marriage which enraged the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community
“We’ve expected it all along. I was actually surprised that it happened only once,” he said.
Pacquiao is winding down his training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood and is set to travel to Las Vegas Monday afternoon for the final phase of training for his April 9 fight against Timothy Bradley.
The report did not say if the police and appropriate authorities were informed of the incident by concerned parties as Pacquiao may have been given security protection being an elected official.
