HBCU football Coach Quinn Gray at Albany State football has revoked his former offer to quarterback Marcus Stokes and issued a public apology, Sports Illustrated reports.

According to CBS Sports, The Division II HBCU program coach offered a scholarship to the four-star quarterback recruit Marcus Stokes. Stokes committed to The University of Florida in July 2022 before the Gators pulled his offer in November for rapping along to a song using the N-word in a viral video.

The football player was still in the process of searching for a team to play with when Albany State reached out to him. On Jan. 24, Stokes shared on social media that he had received an offer from the HBCU football team, the Golden Rams.

HBCU alum and supporters were outraged and confused by Gray’s decision to bring Stokes onboard.

“Marcus Stokes receiving an offer from an HBCU, after having his scholarship withdrawn from Florida for saying “N*gga” is sad. There are many young Black men who have spent their lives playing football, hoping someone would provide them with a chance,” one user tweeted.

Other users online were supportive of the recruitment plan while shaming the naysayers for not empowering a “young kid” to have a second chance.

According to CBS Sports, Less than a week later, Gray released an apology via the institution’s website. He called his decision “unacceptable” and shared his conversation with university president Marion Ross Fedrick about the incident.

“Let me start with a humble apology,” Gray wrote. “An apology for not honoring the tradition and history of ASU and for letting many of you down. I didn’t uphold the Ramily standard that I know you expect. Please know that my decision to speak with a student that did not meet your expectations was unacceptable. I only wanted the best for our team, athletes, and institution when I invited the student to visit ASU.”

“As I say to our players, ‘there is a consequence to every action.’ The consequences of my actions brought pain to our University. I was trying to help a student get back in competition, and in my haste, I did not consider the impact the decision would have on all of you. Frankly, it wasn’t my place to use ASU as the platform for redemption in this case. I regret that I used flawed judgment. If given the opportunity, I will do better,” he continued.

“ASU expects excellence. The president has made it clear that my actions did not meet that standard. It was never my intent to misrepresent what ASU stands for nor to ignore the rich history of this institution. I am fully committed to the University’s mission of supporting academic excellence and student success,” Gray added.

On top of the offer Gray gave to Stokes, he has also received a scholarship offer from the D-II program in West Florida.

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