Quantcast
Red Sox scrap ‘racially insensitive’ bobblehead giveaway – Metro US

Red Sox scrap ‘racially insensitive’ bobblehead giveaway

Red Sox scrap ‘racially insensitive’ bobblehead giveaway
Red Sox

The Red Sox scrapped plans to give away 15,000 free David Ortiz bobbleheads during a home game Tuesday night, with the team’s president telling ESPN that he felt its portrayal of Big Papi was “racially insensitive.”

Sam Kennedy made the remarks to ESPN reporter Darren Rovell, according to the New York Daily News.

“I thought the bobbleheads were an inaccurate portrayal of David,” Kennedy told ESPN’s Rovell. “To go further, I thought the facial features were racially insensitive.”

A tweet containing an image of the bobblehead portrays an open-mouthed Ortiz holding a microphone in a re-enactment of the player’s “this is our f–king city” speech, given at Fenway Park after the Boston Marathon bombing.

It is one of five bobblehead giveaways planned this year, to mark Papi’s last year before retirement, according to the Daily News.

“The Boston Red Sox have cancelled tonight’s David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway,” the team said in a statement. “The bobbleheads were unacceptable to the club and not appropriate for distribution. We will be issuing new David Ortiz bobbleheads to all ticketed fans at a later date…We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”

Fans can visit the team’s website to find out how to secure the new bobbleheads, the statement said.