Ray Rice issued a statement on Friday apologizing to the city of Baltimore and the Ravens organization for his involvement in a domestic violence incident that took place roughly a year ago.
The full statement was published in The Baltimore Sun.
“This is not a farewell or goodbye. The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives,” Rice wrote. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown my family and I throughout my football career. We’ll always be grateful for the love we’ve received from all of our fans and supporters, and for winning a Super Bowl. To all the kids who looked up to me, I’m truly sorry for letting you down, but I hope it’s helped you learn that one bad decision can turn your dream into a nightmare. There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I hope to make a positive difference in people’s lives by raising awareness of this issue. Thank you, Baltimore Ravens, for all you have done for my family and I. I’m very grateful to Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, and everyone at 1 Winning Drive. I love you all very much, and I’ll always be proud to say I played for the Baltimore Ravens. Thank you.”
Rice, who was seen on camera assaulting his now-wife Janay Palmer in a casino elevator, avoided jail time and was allowed into a pretrial intervention program. He won his appeal of an indefinite suspension back in November and has since been reinstated by the NFL.
The timing of Rice’s apology is obviously not a coincidence. Free agency is just around the corner, and the 28-year-old will need to do all he can to repair his public image if he hopes to find work.
Some would argue that Rice’s skills were declining before the domestic violence incident. We would’t rule out a team giving him a one-year contract, but he shouldn’t expect much more.
