Baseball Mascot Changes Name After Complaints from Hispanics
Minor League Baseball team the Lehigh Valley IronPigs has decided to change name of its new mascot “PorkChop” after getting some complaints from the Hispanics that it is offensive.
This adorable mascot is described as a portly, affable IronPig wearing the IronPigs home uniform and jersey number 26 – the atomic number for Iron (Fe). However, the urban dictionary defines pork chop as a racist term for people of Puerto Rican descent.
When I checked Urban Dictionary, this is one of the definitions of pork chop:
A derogatory term toward the members of the Portuguese race. Literally referencing the similar sounding of Portuguese as well as comparing the people to a slab of meat.
This Triple-A affiliate of Philadelphia Phillies claimed they are unaware of such term. That’s why they decided to change its name quickly to Ferrous, an adjective derived from the Latin word ferrum (iron). The term is commonly used to indicate the presence of, or having to do with, iron.
The names are all based on the “Name the Mascot” contest as they look for a fun and either pig- or iron-oriented moniker. PorkChop was the winning entry of the said contest but when some people complained about its offensive meaning they restarted the contest. Ferrous emerged the winner from more than 7,345 submissions collected.
