A top high school football quarterback has lost his college athletic scholarship after he was seen in a video mimicking the words from a hip-hop song that included the n-word in the lyrics.
According to 3 Wear TV, high school quarterback Marcus Stokes, who several colleges have recruited, had a scholarship offer rescinded after a video of him saying, “Welcome back, n***a” in a now-deleted two-second video that was posted on social media. The offer was extended to him by the University of Florida.
rapper amp_ad_1 ampforwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad1">A Twitter user captured a screenshot of the post.
The university pulled the sports scholarship offer after the video circulated on social
media. He had been ranked No. 14 in the nation by 24/7 Sports. He is currently attending Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.Stokes posted a statement offering an apology and regret for clearly repeating the lyrics and filming it for all to see. “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,” Stokes continued in his statement.
“I will strive to be better and to become the best version of myself both on and off the field. I know that learning from my mistakes is a first important step.”
TMZ Sports reported that several schools offered scholarships to Stokes, including Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech.