Albany State FB Coach Quinn Gray Apologizes for Marcus Stokes Scholarship Offer
Jan 28, 2023
Footballs are piled on the field prior to an NFL football game between the Carlina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
Albany State head football coach Quinn Gray issued an apology on Saturday for offering a scholarship to former Florida commit and 2023 4-star quarterback Marcus Stokes, though his statement didn't mention Stokes by name.
His apology read, in part:
Let me start with a humble apology. 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 added in his statement that "ASU expects excellence" and that school president Marion Ross Fedrick "made it clear that my actions did not meet that standard."
Stokes, who is considered the No. 31 quarterback in the Class of 2023 and the No. 93 player from the state of Florida, per 247Sports.com's Composite Rankings, had his scholarship offer from Florida pulled in November after video surfaced online of him rapping an anti-Black slur along with a song. Stokes is white.
"I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet. "... 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."
Stokes has since tweeted that he's received offers from Alabama A&M—also an HBCU—and the University of West Florida.
