Ray Rice has not said much since his NFL career was, ostensibly, ended when the Baltimore Ravens voided his contract and the league suspended him. But he did say he was in “good spirits” in the aftermath of the release of the video of him knocking out his wife, Janay.
“I have to be strong for my wife,” Rice told ESPN’s Josina Anderson over the phone. “She’s so strong. We are in good spirits. We have a lot of people praying for us, and we’ll continue to support each other.
“I have to be there for Janay and my family and just work through this.”
Anderson said Rice then handed the phone to his wife, who Anderson said sounded strong and resolute.
“I love my husband,” she said. “I support him. I want people to respect our privacy in this matter.”
Meanwhile, the Ravens and NFL insist they did not see the footage of the elevator encounter on Feb. 15 until TMZ released it Monday. Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has received widespread criticism for the mishandling of the Rice situation — suspending him just two games for the domestic violence arrest; creating a domestic violence penalty scale of six games suspension for first offenders but then banning Rice indefinitely, while the San Francisco 49ers Ray McDonald remains on the field; and his overall history of strong-arming players – said his job is not in question with everything swirling around him.
