Dave Aranda repeatedly uses slur in Wolf of Wall Street analogy to describe recruiting struggle

On Friday, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda met with the press after giving a presentation at the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) convention. However, the press availability took an odd turn when Aranda attempted to explain difficulties of recruiting in the current college football landscape by comparing it to a scene from the 2013 movie, 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. Aranda’s unusual response went viral on social media, with millions of people watching the video only hours after it was posted.

As of this report, Dave Aranda hasn’t addressed the now widespread moment. Aranda is entering his sixth season as Baylor’s head coach. The Bears posted an 8-5 record last season, including a 6-3 mark in conference play.

According to FanDuel, Baylor is currently tied with Utah for the third-best odds to win the Big 12 this year, only trailing Kansas State and Texas Tech. The Bears are returning 13 starters from last season, including star quarterback Sawyer Robertson.