A high school football player had his scholarship offer revoked from the University of Florida after video surfaced of him using a racial slur while quoting a song lyric.
The university pulled its offer to Marcus Stokes, a four-star quarterback recruit from Nease High School in Ponta Vedra Beach, after the video found Friday showed him saying “Welcome back” followed by the slur, NBC affiliate WPTV-TV reported.
"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," Stokes said in a message posted on Twitter.
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Stokes had been committed to the Gators since July. The scholarship removal comes one week after UF flipped five-star recruit Jaden Rashada from rival Miami.
"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 added. "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."
