Why disgraced NFL star Ray Rice thinks he’s qualified to mentor players accused of domestic violence
After being booted from the NFL after horrific video of an incident where he punched his then-fiancee Janay Rice and dragged her out of an elevator surfaced, former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice now wants to help to mentor current NFL players who have been accused of domestic violence.
Rice and his wife Janay appeared on CBS This Morning with Gayle King and opened up about his desire to create change in the league after the infamous incident in an Atlantic City casino in 2014 sidelined his career, the Daily Mail reports.
Rice also talked about the case involving former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt’s videotaped assault of a woman in Kansas City.
TMZ obtained video of the Jan. 6 incident, which appears to show Hunt at a Kansas City nightclub being restrained by a security guard.
“I know Kareem has apologized, and has expressed remorse for the survivors of domestic violence,” Rice told ‘CBS This Morning‘ on Tuesday morning.
“And like I said, I’ll continue to do that, because I know now from doing the work, how gruesome it is.”
Janay said she chalked up her own assault at the time as typical couples behavior.
“I know that, you know, I just thought we were being a typical, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend. Like, we argue and … I didn’t really sit back and think about it until I was forced to think about it,” Janay said.
Rice denied speaking out has anything to do with his interest to return to football.
NEW: In his first TV interview since the latest NFL domestic violence and assault incidents, Ray Rice tells @GayleKing he has "no desire" to play football anymore and wants to help other athletes. https://t.co/ZhkZeKmtRs
See the full interview Tuesday on @CBSThisMorning 7-9 a.m. pic.twitter.com/fNlbDCpH8i
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) December 17, 2018
“Because I’ll be honest with you, it — and it’s not the game of football. I love football. I’m coaching. I’m helping out youth. I just feel like the pressure I was under of being a — like, a star, that was the person I hated the most,” Rice said.
“So I don’t want to go back to being something that, just because it financially took care of me, tormented my life. I want to be in a position now to help.”
The NFL Responds
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said after Rice’s case made headlines that the league needs to improve the handling of domestic violence claims against players.
“The same mistakes can never be repeated,” he said at the time. “We will get our house in order first.”Running back Kareem Hunt was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday after video surfaced of him pushing a woman to the ground and later kicking her.
The Kansas City Chiefs released Kareem Hunt after video surfaced on TMZ showing the star running back him shoving and kicking a woman last February.
Shortly after the team’s statement, the NFL had announced that Hunt had been put on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning he can’t play in or attend games until the investigation is over and a decision on potential discipline is made.
In a statement, Hunt apologized for his actions, saying, “I deeply regret what I did. I hope to move on from this.”
