The Florida Gators recently took away a scholarship offer to one of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation after the teen filmed himself saying the N-word. Marcus Stokes played quarterback for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and received an offer from Florida, Penn State, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern and Georgia State, amongst others. Stokes was a four star recruit and amongst the top 50 players in the state.
The video came out on Friday and shows Stokes saying “Welcome back” followed by the N-word. Stokes revealed in a statement he posted to social media on Sunday that the Gators pulled their offer. He wrote, “I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted a video of it on social media, I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say. It was hurtful and offensive to many people, and I regret that. I fully accept the consequences for my actions, and I respect the University of Florida’s decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football. My intention was never to hurt anybody and I recognize that even when going along with a song, my words still carry a lot of weight. I will strive to be better and to become the best version of myself on and off the field. I know that learning from my mistakes is a first important step.”
Stokes had changed his commitment from Penn State to Florida in July, and had 14 touchdowns and 1,867 passing yards in his senior season after appearing on schools’ radars after his junior year when he had 28 touchdowns and 2,672 passing yards.
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