JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nease quarterback Marcus Stokes had his scholarship offer pulled from the University of Florida after a clip surfaced on social media of Stokes using a racial slur while singing a song.
— Marcus “JOKER” Stokes🃏🥷 (@marcusstokes06) November 20, 2022
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“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 posted to Twitter.
“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 both on and off the field. I know that learning from my mistakes is a first important step.”
Stokes passed for 1,867 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 608 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final season. The numbers were respectable, but Stokes and the Panthers had a disappointing season. One year after going 9-4 and reaching the regional finals, Nease finished 2-8.
The timing of Stokes’ offer being pulled comes just over a week after Jaden Rashada flipped from Miami to the Gators. Rashada is the No. 27 overall player in the country, according to ESPN. Many colleges are reluctant to pull an offer to player who has committed unless there has been a coaching change. That’s not the case in Gainesville.
Stokes is a four-star player by 247 Sports and a three-star by ESPN, ON3 and Rivals.