Players from the exhibition baseball team, the Party Animals, have been hit with criticism after making light of life-threatening allergies during a recent social media post.
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In the video, players Bronson Balholm, Bret Helton, and Tanner Thomas were seen in a locker room. The words “live-streaming and had to EpiPen Tanner” were written over the video.
“My heart is still racing,” Balholm wrote in the post’s caption.
Although it started off concerning, fans and critics quickly realized the moment was actually for humor and not a real health emergency. However, the joke didn’t land well for everyone.
“Except there was zero educational value or teaching points about Epi-Pen in this video,” one critic wrote. “What life theeatening medical condition will be featured next? Diabetic coma? Cardiac arrest? Asthma attack? Those would be just as funny.”
Another critic wrote, “As a mom to a 9 year old baseball player allergic to many foods including peanuts, i showed him this video without watching it in full. He asked me why they’re making fun of people with food allergies. I used this as a teaching moment for him – what did Tanner do wrong? “Ate food without asking what was in it.” I get what you’re going for here but your younger fans (many with allergies I’m sure) probably do not.”
“It’s not showing the seriousness of allergies at all,” a fellow critic stated. “It’s making a joke out of it and making it not serious.”
Fans Quickly Rallied Behind the Baseball Players
Meanwhile, fans rallied behind the players, laughing along with the moment.
“As someone with severe life threatening allergies who has to carry an EpiPen everywhere no matter what… this is HILARIOUS,” one fan wrote.
A fellow fan stated, “Please don’t delete this, it’s hilarious and spreads awareness of the seriousness and importance of allergies and using EpiPens!”
Balholm then took to the comment section to make a disclaimer. “This video was not meant to make fun of people with allergies. The goal was to help inform people about the seriousness of allergic reactions and the importance of knowing how to use an EpiPen in an emergency.”