Dave Aranda apologizes for 'misstep' after repeatedly using slur in Wolf of Wall Street analogy for recruiting

Baylor’s Dave Aranda had an odd, if not inconsiderate, answer last week while speaking with the media at the Texas High School Coaches Association. Now, at his next availability this week, the Bears’ head coach owned up to some of his choice of words.

After practice on Wednesday, Aranda apologized for some of the language he used in the analogy he shared in his now-viral response to a question last week. He noted and apologized for the mistake and the harm that it may have caused, as it wasn’t what he meant to do.

“Hey, I wanted to say, you know, the last time I spoke, I had a misstep and hurt a bunch of people. So, you know, I apologize for that,” Aranda said to open with. “That was not what I intended to get across, so I’m sorry for that.”

Aranda was referencing the answer he had last week, where he made a reference to ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’ In that answer that has now gone viral, Aranda used the phrase ‘midget,’ a derogatory name for little people, three times.

Again, the response in and of itself was pretty peculiar, especially as he was just talking about recruiting. Still, for the use of the term, Aranda has now addressed the issue with an apology to those whom he may have affected.

Aranda repeatedly uses slur in Wolf of Wall Street analogy

On Friday last week, Aranda met with the press after giving a presentation at the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) Convention. However, the availability took a turn when he attempted to explain the difficulties of recruiting in the current college football landscape by comparing it to a scene from ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’

“There’s a scene in The Wolf of Wall Street, where they talk about throwing midgets,” Aranda said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, this midget, can he roll there?’ And you go, ‘No, he doesn’t roll. You throw him. You know what I mean? And they’re made for throwing.’ And then after a while, they start talking, and they go, ‘Well, you know what? I think, if you start talking, they may think they know we’re making fun of them. The midgets may think we’re making fun of them.

“They may get mad at us.’ And then the guys go, ‘Well, what we need to do is make them think they’re one of us.’ And they go, ‘One of us. One of us.’ And I think that’s the thing with coaching, call it recruiting…They talk about requiring players, getting rid of players, just like that. And the whole thing underneath all that is they make them think they’re one of us, you know what I mean? But, I don’t know. Do you have to do that to win? You know, that sucks.”

In the mind-boggling analogy, Aranda didn’t hesitate to say the word ‘midget’ three times. The derogatory term for little people has been gradually phased out of the mainstream. Alas, Aranda showed no signs that he was aware of this.

It appears Aranda was attempting to communicate the need to convince recruits and transfers that they belong at Baylor. However, the message clearly didn’t come across as intended, especially as the unusual response went viral on social media with millions of people watching the video only hours after it was posted.