The Red Sox cancelled a David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway yesterday because the "figurines were deemed inaccurate and racially offensive" by Red Sox President Sam Kennedy, according to a front-page piece by Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. The bobblehead was of Ortiz "holding a microphone, a tribute to his emotional speech he made at Fenway Park five days after the Boston Marathon bombings" in '13. Kennedy said, "It was an inaccurate portrayal of David. It doesn't really look like David. ... I personally thought it seemed to be an offensive portrayal of him and the facial features were racially insensitive. If I was feeling this way, certainly other people would. So we pulled the plug." Kennedy said that the 15,000 bobbleheads "would be returned to the manufacturer and a new model made." All ticketed fans for yesterday's game against the Yankees "will receive bobbleheads in the mail, not just the first 15,000." Kennedy: "Everybody will receive one." The bobblehead was made by Seattle-based BDA Inc. The Red Sox have "used the company as a source of other such promotional items." There were "two versions of the bobblehead made," and the Red Sox "found both unacceptable" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/10). In Providence, Bill Ballou notes the bobblehead was the "last of five Ortiz-related giveaways scheduled for this year" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 8/10).
