An innocent occasion to celebrate David Ortiz has taken a bizarre turn for the racist.
The Red Sox were excited to celebrate Big Papi bobblehead day on Tuesday, to honor their retiring star with a keepsake remembering one of his most iconic moments — telling Fenway Park “This is our f–king city” in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The bobbleheads were supposed to capture the moment, one hand with a raised fist, the other holding a mic. Here’s the image the team promoted:
Then the bobbleheads were delivered, with an unfortunate detail: Ortiz’s lips are rendered large and white, in the style of a classic racist caricature. According to ESPN, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy believed the bobbleheads to be “offensive” and “racially insensitive.”
The Red Sox issued an apology after canceling the giveaway, saying all ticketed fans would receive their mementos at a later date, while calling the bobbleheads “unacceptable to the club and not appropriate for distribution.”
So in Ortiz’s improbably great farewell season — he enters Tuesday with 25 home runs and 87 RBIs — apparently only marketing snafus can slow the ride.
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