One of the top best football programs in the United States is the Florida Gators. They have a long history of success, and if they recruit you, it's probably because you are very good. Following the Aaron Hernandez debacle, you can imagine just how sensitive the team is to any behavioral issues.
Gators Rescind Scholarship
Consequently, the team had to rescind a scholarship offer to one of its top recruits, this past weekend. Nease High School quarterback Marcus Stokes lost his scholarship after posting a video of himself rapping the N-word. Overall, Stokes should have known this was a bad idea, but he did it anyway.
Many were offended by Stokes' actions, which is what forced the team to take action. Eventually, Stokes realized that he was in the wrong, and he took to Twitter with a written apology. He noted that he should never have done it, and that he is accepting of the school's decision.
"I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted a video of it on social media," Stokes said. "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."
Moving forward, Stokes is at risk of not having another opportunity at the Division 1 level. While there are plenty of other offers out there for him, those could be rescinded quite fast. No matter what, this is an unfortunate situation, although it is a teachable moment for the young man. Hopefully, he doesn't do it all over again.
Schools are placed in these uncomfortable positions all of the time. Moreover, they are then forced into figuring out whether they value ethics, or results on the field. In this particular instance, the Gators chose morals.
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[Via]