In 2014, Ray Rice was seen on video punching and kicking his then-fiancee, Janay, in an Atlantic City, New Jersey casino elevator. Shortly after the video was made public, Rice was dropped from the Baltimore Ravens, but now 4 years later, Rice says he hates the person he sees in the video.
In an interview with CBS This Morning, the couple discussed the incident and his career, as he spoke out against domestic violence.
“I’ll be the first one to say it: I don’t have to retire to tell you I’m done with football,” Rice, 31, said
during the interview on Tuesday. “The pressure I was under of being a star, that was the person I hated the most,” he said.
Shortly after the domestic violence incident, Rice married Janay, even though many questioned why she would remain involved with him. But he notes that the marriage was his second chance to make things right and according to Janay, who never saw the video, said it was the first time Rice had ever hit her.
“I hate that person. I hate him,” Rice said. “Somewhere down the line everybody who’s sayin’, ‘Does he deserve a second chance for football?’ And this that and the other — I actually got my second chance.
“During my darkest moments, and I used to ask myself, ‘How could she even be — want to support me? That’s understandable. But I think what’s misunderstood about us is that the friends we were before the incident.”
Ray also referenced the video that showed ex-NFL player Kareem Hunt
shoving and kicking a woman in a February hotel incident.
“That’s why, like I said, when I look at Kareem Hunt, I wanna know what his life was like. I want to know what happened in life. I know Kareem has apologized, and has expressed remorse for survivors of domestic violence.”
Rice says he’s met with NFL officials to address how they’re handling domestic violence issues some of the players have.
“They’re trying to do the right thing…I know they are working with groups to try to get more of an understanding. And they’re doing the work,” he said.
