The situation that unfolded with Kareem Hunt this week is eerily similar to what happened with Ray Rice back in 2014. Rice, who was suspended and never played in the NFL again after a video of him punching his now-wife Janay was released, is hoping to help Hunt figure out where to go from here.
In an interview with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Rice spoke about how he has been trying to help other athletes and individuals avoid “split-second decisions” that can permanently change their lives. He’d like to have a similar discussion with Hunt.
“Peer-to-peer, I would definitely try to help him figure out, ‘How can we start dealing with the underlying problems in your life?'” Rice said. “…In that moment right there, you go back and you think about your own self. First, I would look at the situation and say, ‘How did I even get in that moment?’ Because whatever what was done in that moment, something transpired before it even got there.”
Rice reflected on his own situation and how he wished he could have taken a step back before making the worst decision of his life.
“I just look at the situation and say, ‘Your life wasn’t being threatened.’ So, if there was just words, you can back out of that situation — so somewhere there’s got to [show] some strength to deal with that properly,” he said. “It is hard to practice what to do in the most intense moments and about making those split-second decisions.”
Now that he has spoken with players at several top college programs like Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and Notre Dame in addition to NFL teams including the Ravens, Rice is hoping to keep helping his peers and hinted that he would like to turn it into a career.
Of course, there are always going to be questions about whether domestic abusers like Rice are truly sorry or just sorry they got caught. Hunt lied to the Chiefs about the confrontation he got into with a woman, and you have to wonder how he would feel if certain people got their way with the release of the footage.
