Ex-NBA Player Gets Fired From Philippine Team for Insulting Manny Pacquiao

Former NBA player Daniel Orton was fired by his team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after his harsh remarks against Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Orton was criticized when he had negative comments against the boxer after his team, the Purefoods Hotshots, played against Pacquiao's team, Kia Carnival, in the Philippine professional league.

Orton previously said this after his team lost, "Professional boxer, yeah, okay... professional basketball player, no. It's a joke."

Although several thousands of Filipinos have also expressed their disappointment over Pacquiao joining the local basketball league, Orton's comments resulted to more drastic consequences for him. Washington Post reported that Orton was fired and fined the equivalent of $5,650 for his caustic statements.

Rene Pardo, Orton's team's top administrator, shared to the media that Orton was axed for insulting Pacquiao.

Pardo reportedly said, "Everyone is angry at him... it is like he went to the United States and insulted the name of Martin Luther King."

Chito Salud, PBA commissioner, also stated, "This office disapproves of and frowns upon the cavalier manner in which Mr Orton issued his comments and the unwarranted antics and liberties he has taken with the league and a fellow player."

Salud added, "This insulting behaviour will never be condoned by this league."

Orton resorted to Twitter to bid his team farewell saying, "I thank God for my time in the Philippines and thank Purefoods for everything. I wish the team the best of luck."

Orton is a former Kentucky player who was part of John Calipari's first UK recruiting class. The 6'10" 275 center was at the Washington Wizards training camp when he decided to play in the Philippine pro league. Courier-Journal reported that Orton averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in his single season at UK. He was drafted by the Orlando Magic 29th overall in 2010 and trained with the OKC Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers before signing with a Chinese team in 2014.

New York Daily News notes that Pacquiao is currently a Philippine congressman and a playing coach for his local PBA team, Kia Carnival. After playing three games in the professional league, he scored his first point in the Philippine league earlier in February via a free throw. Despite the official announcement of his May 2 fight against Mayweather, the 5'6" Pacquiao shared that he will continue playing basketball with his team in between boxing training sessions before flying to the United States for the mega-bout.