It looks like Florida quarterback Marcus Stokes will be searching for a new college to attend next school year. On Sunday (Nov. 20), the Nease High School student lost his athletic scholarship offer after a video surfaced on social media of the white teen using a racial slur.

According to CBS Sports, Stokes committed to the University of Florida in July. However, after a video of the athlete saying, “Welcome back, n**ga” was uploaded online on Friday (Nov. 18), the school quickly withdrew its offer. The student-athlete shared an apology on Twitter, adding that he fully respects the school’s decision to not have him as a member of their community moving forward. “I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words, and posted a video of it on social media,” Stokes began.

“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 [of] 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,” he concluded.

“Passively blaming rap music… your parents should’ve corrected you a loooong time ago. It starts at home, not on the radio,” one person tweeted in response to the Florida teen. Surprisingly, many felt the university’s decision did not fit the crime. Several tweets, even from Black people, felt Stokes was punished too harshly. Others made jokes about his actions, which did not seem to be carefully thought out. “Marcus Stokes as a salesman,” one user posted. The tweet contained a video clip of a door-to-door salesman accidentally calling a man a “n**ger” instead of “neighbor.”

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