I didn’t realize that. In that case, good question.
Here are a few possible answers:
1. I’m mistaken and the word “hero” is not used, but rather other terms such as “role models” are used.
2. There is nothing wrong with using the term, since that is no longer what it means. It is possible that there are many words that have negative origins but it doesn’t necessarily make the contemporary usage problematic.
3. Most people are unaware of the origin of the word.
My guess is that both 2 & 3 are correct. But that is just a guess.