Nate Panza, an incoming Cornell football recruit, has been booted from the team after being caught on video using a racial slur. The running back from Morristown, New Jersey was captured in a Snapchat video over the weekend using the n-word on camera while hanging with some of his high school classmates.
During the conversation, Panza can be heard saying “f*ck that n*gga,” before realizing he was being recorded. When he saw that the camera was on him, Panza reacted by saying, “Oh wait, you can’t put that one up. You can’t post that.”
The video immediately went viral on social media.
As the video continued to spread, Cornell announced that it has rescinded its offer and Panza would no longer be a part of the team.
“After viewing [the video], head football coach, David Archer, made the decision to rescind the individual’s offer to join the team in the fall,” Cornell Athletic Director Andy Noel told TMZ Sports. “There is no room for this behavior in Cornell Athletics.”
Panza has issued an apology since the video went public.
“A video was taken of me using a word that is offensive and hurtful,” Panza wrote in a statement to The Cornell Sun. “The word has a long history of cruelty for the black community and is simply wrong. I am heartbroken I have hurt people; those I know and those I do not. I take full responsibility for my actions.
“I do not believe that my language that night aligns with who I have tried to be as a person, the values I live by or the manner in which I have conducted myself as an athlete. My immediate reaction to the video was to reach out to my entire high school community to offer my sincerest apologies.”
Panza had committed to play football at Cornell by signing his National Letter of Intent on February 5, 2020, after rushing for 1,200 yards and 17 touchdowns in his senior year at Morristown-Beard High School.
