The wife of Ray Rice, whose NFL career was derailed Monday by the release of surveillance footage showing him hitting his then-fiancee in an elevator, says the new attention is making the couple relive one of the most painful moments of their lives. Janay Rice says the media have used the episode to boost ratings.
Rice issued her response to the situation on Instagram one day after the Baltimore Ravens terminated her husband's contract. From The Baltimore Sun:
"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend," Janay Rice wrote. "But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that [the] media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass [off] for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific.
"THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don't you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!"
Ray Rice, 27, has not commented publicly since the Ravens announced they were releasing him Monday. Both the team and the NFL say that when the footage from the February altercation between Rice and his fiancee was published by the website TMZ on Monday, it was the first time they'd seen the video.
As we reported yesterday, Ray Rice's two-game suspension over the incident had been set to expire after the Ravens' game Thursday night. But the video, which showed the running back hitting his wife hard in the face in an elevator car, inflamed outrage and led to new criticisms of a punishment that many said was too lenient.
In comments about the incident earlier this summer, Rice apologized. From ESPN:
"I know that's not who I am as a man. That's not who my mom raised me to be. If anybody knows me, they know I was raised by a single parent, and that was my mother. I let her down, I let my wife down, I let my daughter down. I let my wife's parents down. I let the whole Baltimore community down. I let my teammates down. I let so many people down because of 30 seconds of my life that I know I can't take back."
The violence that night in February resulted in a charge of aggravated assault against Ray Rice. In May, he entered a pretrial diversionary program that would allow him to have the charge dismissed if he completes all of its requirements.
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