Ravens running back Ray Rice spoke out against bullying via his Facebook page on Tuesday, the day after a 15-year-old suspect was taken into custody for shooting a fellow student on the first day of classes at Perry Hall High School in Baltimore, Maryland.
A man identified as the suspect’s father told The Associated Press his son had been bullied. Learning that news prompted Rice to post some thoughts on his Facebook page Tuesday.
“Not related to Perry Hall directly and not advocating for or defending bullies, but when a kid shoots another kid, something is really, really wrong. Bullying or not, how does nobody notice that something is going wrong in the kid’s life? How do people stand by and do nothing? We need to start saying ‘what’s wrong?’ and do something about it before tragedy strikes! I can’t help but wonder if someone was kind to these kids if their paths would have shifted long ago and tragedies would be averted. Just makes me think…and wonder…and hope for better things.”
As The Baltimore Sun points out, the subject of bullying is meaningful to Rice. The running back spoke about it in June to thousands of people at Merriweather Post Pavilion as part of his “A Ray of Hope: A Pro-Kindness, Anti-Bullying, Teen Suicide Prevention Outreach.” In light of that, he tried leaving youngsters with a positive message Tuesday morning.
“Students…today when you go to school…Sit with someone who is alone at the lunch table, befriend the new kid in class, lend a helping hand, make it a point to be kind, and if you see something that is not quite right, say something!! You can be a HERO to someone, just by being their FRIEND!” he wrote on Facebook.
The two notes seem to have reached a wide number of people on Facebook, and hopefully even more will heed his advice. It’s the type of advice that could help not just students, but also parents, working professionals, and even other football players.
