Political correctness gone completely bananas!!
Reminds me of the the term becoming common in cricket. Once upon a time (back in the day, before the world went stark raving mad!) the man who batted was called a "Batsman", and the stuff you stick on fish was "batter". Not any more!! GRRRR!!!!
Also, while I'm in this tantrum, I also object to people referring to the sport as "AFL". "Little Johnny, aged 9, is playing AFL." NO!! Little Johhny is playing Aussie Rules and, one day, he may aspire to being able to play in the AFL...!!
SorrY! Rant over!