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Dave Aranda is one of a few notable football coaches who are entering the upcoming season on the hot seat. The Baylor skipper also found himself in hot water earlier this month after he referenced a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street during a bizarre answer to a question about his approach to recruiting, and he apologized after attracting some backlash.
It seems like there was a very good chance Dave Aranda had run out of time at Baylor after the Bears got off to a 2-4 start during his fifth season at the helm last year. There was already plenty of evidence to suggest the 12-2 record he’d posted during his second season was an anomaly, and it looked like the team was on track for its third consecutive losing season.
However, Baylor turned things around and finished with a six-game winning streak before losing to LSU in the Texas Bowl to finish at 8-5, and the school confirmed he’d be coming back for at least one more ride.
Aranda is one of the many coaches who’ve had to grapple with the changes to the college football landscape during an era where NIL and the transfer portal have been the source of plenty of chaos, and he recently got the chance to address some of those challenges while speaking at a coaching conference.
However, he subsequently had to issue a mea culpa after making a bit of an unforced error.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda apologized for using a derogatory word for little people while referencing The Wolf of Wall Street
Aranda (who has essentially been the definition of average at Baylor with the 31-30 record he’s posted so far) recently spoke with the media at an event that was organized by the Texas High School Coaches Association.
During that session, he got to shed some insight into his approach to recruiting and issued a fairly rambling response where he referenced a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street that revolves around the intricacies of dwarf tossing.
Baylor’s Dave Aranda just gave one of the most bizarre answers to a question I think I’ve ever heard pic.twitter.com/AMmTAatKCm
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) July 25, 2025
However, Aranda did not use “dwarf” or “little people” but rather another word starting with “m” that most people are aware is viewed as offensive among the community it refers to—a reality reflected in the statement issued by the advocacy group Mascots Matter, which said:
“Mascots Matter is appalled by recent remarks made by Baylor University’s Head Football Coach, Dave Aranda.”
By using this term, Coach Aranda contributed to the normalization of ableism, which continues to affect millions of people with disabilities. Such comments coming from a leader in the sports community further stigmatize people with disabilities.”
According to KCEN, Aranda admitted he screwed up while speaking at Baylor’s fall camp, noting:
“I wanted to say, last time we spoke, I had a misstep and hurt a bunch of people, so I apologize for that,” Aranda said. “That was not what I intended to come across, so I’m sorry for that.”