Kaiser Permanente Pulls Out of Mannywood Promo

Healthcare insurance provider Kaiser Permanente dropped its sponsorship of tonight's Manny Ramirez bobblehead giveaway following his suspension for violating MLB's drug policy.

The event has been sold out for days, but Kaiser Permanente, who agreed to be the official healthcare insurer of the team last spring, decided it was in its best interest to pass on the promotion sponsorship.

"As a health-care organization, we thought it was necessary to pull out of our sponsorship of the promotion when he was suspended for violating baseball's drug policy," Kaiser Permanente spokesman Jim Anderson told the LA Times.

A couple weeks ago, the UFC's Brock Lesnar ripped UFC sponsor, Bud Light, in a classic post-fight interview. Brands have typically been fast to plan for every contingency in athlete endorsements via the commonly-used morals clause. However, as a league or team sponsor - rather than an endorser - recent events may lead more brands to insulate themselves from the damaging actions of not just the sponsee, but also their key figures. In this instance, Kaiser Permanente says they're sticking by their sponsorship of the Dodgers, but dropping affiliation with the promotion and presumably obtaining a make-good on the benefit.

As it turns out Manny might not be at his own Bobblehead night, either. The slugger left last night's game after being hit on the hand. Any guesses as to which healthcare affiliate served up the x-rays?