Baylor football coach Dave Aranda fell on his sword on Friday and apologized after being accused of engaging in “ableism” when he used the word “midget” in a press conference.
Last week, Aranda used a reference to the film The Wolf of Wall Street to describe his feelings about NIL and the transfer portal, and how it feels as if schools are buying and selling players like commodities.
Aranda referenced the scene in the movie where they talk about throwing midgets, but became afraid that the little people might feel like they are being used and disrespected.
The coach went on to say that in the film, they had a way to put the midgets at ease, and he added, “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.’”
He then said, “And I think that’s the thing with coaching, call it recruiting, is it’s that way. They talk about acquiring 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?”
Aranda, though, soon came under criticism from a group called Mascots Matter for using the word “midgets” in his press conference and accused the coach of having “contributed to the normalization of ableism.” And now the coach is apologizing for using the word, according to KCEN-TV.
“I wanted to say, last time we spoke, I had a misstep and hurt a bunch of people, so I apologize for that. That was not what I intended to come across, so I’m sorry for that,” Aranda said without directly referencing the word he was criticized for using.
The school has thus far not made any statement of its own about the midget remark.
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