Why did Florida withdraw quarterback Marcus Stokes’ scholarship offer and why did Albany State offer one?
The talented QB appears to be more guilty of stupidity than sinister intention, but no matter how you cut the situation, it’s not a good look for an athlete who could at present, or one day be, a role model for kids.
A curious situation has occurred in college football. On the one side we’ve got a player who allegedly engaged in racist behavior and was subsequently punished for it. On the other, we’ve got another school that would like to give him a chance, which presents the question: ‘If I am willing to work with you, does it automatically mean I endorse what you seem to stand for?’
Florida said no to Marcus Stokes but Albany State says yes
If you missed it, four-star Marcus Stokes received an offer last year from the University of Florida. That’s cool right? Yet, what’s not cool, is the fact that this past November the school withdrew its scholarship offer after a video circulated, in which Stokes appears to be singing a song with lyrics that contain the N-word. To be clear, Stokes actions were less than desirable to say the least, but is the situation so black and white? Regardless of where you stand, it would appear that other schools don’t think so. According to reports, Stokes has since received an offer from the HBCU program Albany State.
It should be mentioned, that Stokes who committed to the Gators in July of last year did in fact apologize for his actions and even added that he understood Florida’s decision. “I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say,” read part of Stokes’ statement at the time. “...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.” Of course, the damage was already done as the large majority of teams ended their interest in Stokes, however, as mentioned above not all of them. Albany state is a Division II HBCU program.
A bit about Marcus Stokes and what awaits him
With his future now seemingly set, Stokes took to social media to share the news in a tweet which tagged new Albany State head coach, Quinn Gray - who is African American. Incidentally, Gray who was a sensational player for Florida A&M, also played for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. As fate would have it, Gray previously worked as an offensive analyst at another school that initially tried to recruit Stokes, Memphis. Where the signal caller himself is concerned, Stokes is the No. 24 quarterback in the 2023 signing class according to reports, which is to say he’s not bad. The question now is, will this apparent lack of judgment follow him into the future, or will he demonstrate that it was simply a mistake and not an indication of his character?