https://twitter.com/connortheOGfam/status/763079944410894336
David Ortiz is a beloved figure in Boston, and the Red Sox are going all out to help celebrate his final season before retiring. Part of the plan was to give away Ortiz bobbleheads at Tuesday’s game. However, those plans have been cancelled. The reason given is that the Red Sox found the bobbleheads “unacceptable to the club” and “not appropriate for distribution.”
A statement from the #RedSox regarding tonight's David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway: pic.twitter.com/btKRFyvDIE
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 9, 2016
This is the sort of bobblehead related news that is just going to make people more interested in the bobblehead. A lot of times, bobbleheads don’t come out looking great. They frequently don’t end up looking like the person they are supposed to resemble. In this particular instance, though, there was a real issue with the way the Ortiz bobblehead turned out.
#RedSox president Sam Kennedy said the bobbleheads were “inaccurate” and judged to be racially insensitive.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 9, 2016
The bobblehead, which was supposed to commemorate the speech that Big Papi gave after the Boston Marathon bombings, had a major issue. Namely, Ortiz’s lips on the bobblehead are white. This made Ortiz look like a racist caricature from the days of yore, which, obviously, is not what the Red Sox wanted, and not a good thing. Maybe this would have flown with the Cleveland Indians, but not with the Red Sox. Red Sox president Sam Kennedy called the bobbleheads “inaccurate” and racially insensitive, and they will try again later this season. Next time, the team will probably be very involved in the way the bobbleheads turn out.
(Via The Sporting News)
