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Baseball's bullpens sparked controversy with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in October 2021. Bullpen is normally used to designate the place where pitchers warm up before going onto the field. PETA wants Major League Baseball (MLB) to rename it entirely because of the origins of the term. According to PETA, the term comes from bull’s pen, which is where bulls are held before they are slaughtered. The organization argues that the word has speciesist roots, and that we can do better than that, so PETA recommends changing the word to arm barn. Speciesism refers to prejudice or discrimination based on species, especially discrimination against animals. PETA made this call for a change in a post on their official social media: In an Oct. 28, 2021, news release they said: The origins of the term bullpen have been debated by experts on ESPN. According to Paul Dickson, the author of The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term bullpen was first cited in 1915 in an issue of Baseball Magazine. At the turn of the century, he wrote, nearly every ballpark in the country featured a Bull Durham tobacco sign -- a giant bull-shaped billboard -- affixed to the outfield wall. He claimed, All the games were played during the day, and relievers warmed up in the shadow of the bull. Over time, that area became known as the bullpen. Others disagree. In the same ESPN article, Steve Perrault of Merriam-Webster said, 'Bullpen' is almost always used metaphorically, not in reference to a pen for male cows. John Thorn, editor of Total Baseball, argued that Dickson's claim wasn't true: 'bullpen' was in use as early as 1870. It referred to the roped-off area in foul territory from where late arriving fans could watch the game. In a Medium post he wrote: MLB has not responded yet, but some baseball players and teams have reacted with jokes and ridicule:
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