Ban The Word "Bullpen"? Baseball Gets Bizarre Request

 

Yes, team nicknames that offend Native Americans are being changed... Cleveland is dropping "Indians", the Washington Football team in the NFL dropped "Redskins" (though why Atlanta isn't dropping Braves, and the tomahawk chop, is a mystery to many), but we've never quite heard of the term "bullpen" being offensive. Until now.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is standing up for cows everywhere, and is actually urging major league baseball to drop the term "bullpen", and change it to... "arm barn."

Why this bizarre request, you may ask? According to PETA, 'bullpen' "references the holding area where terrified bulls are kept before slaughter." They've suggested "arm barn" is more appropriate for the area in each ballpark where relief pitchers warm-up. 

PETA is urging the MLB to stop using the term "bullpen" to describe the place where pitchers warm up. https://t.co/9U1r51nf9s

— TMZ (@TMZ) October 28, 2021

"Strike out the word bullpen," says PETA. And stop being insensitive to cows. 

The word has been used for at least 100 years in baseball, and Bleacher Report was able to find an article that postulates several theories on how the term originated.  

And yes, one of the theories suggests that "relievers, like bulls, sit in a holding pen before being sent off to slaughter."

But then again, another thesis is that "relief pitchers sat in the pen shooting the bullsh*t."

As for PETA's 'beef'? We'll just leave it at that. 

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports