The University of Florida has rescinded a football scholarship offer to a high school prospect for using the n-word while rapping along with a song.
Standout quarterback Marcus Stokes, of Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, posted a video of himself mimicking the lyric as he rode in a car.
“Welcome back, n—-,” he can be heard saying in the since-deleted two-second clip.
“I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted video of it to social media,” Stokes wrote in a statement Sunday. “I deeply apologize for the words in the song which I chose to say.”
Stokes, who played at the same high school as University of Florida legend Tim Tebow, confirmed that his offer had been revoked after the incident.
“My intent was never to hurt anybody and I recognize that even going along with a song, my words still carry a lot of weight,” he said.
Stokes had received more than a dozen offers from Division 1 college programs, and flipped his commitment from Penn State to Florida in July.
Fellow Florida prep star Roderick Kearney, who is heading to the University of Florida, offered some solace to Stokes amid the controversy.
“Prayers out to Marcus Stokes and his family on the rest of his education and college football decision,” he wrote. “Great kid with a lot of heart. As young men in this society, we must be careful with the things we do, say or post. Everything is under a microscope.”
He also wrote that he understands the reversal.
“I fully accept the consequences of my actions,” Stokes wrote. “And I respect the University of Florida’s decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football.”
The retraction came soon after Florida landed another top national prep quarterback recruit, California’s Jaden Rashada.
Source link
