Ray Rice began living his life again on Saturday afternoon and received a wealth of support because of it - for the most part.
NewYork.CBSLocal.com reported that the former Baltimore Ravens running back, kick out of the league earlier this week after video surfaced of him hitting his then-fiancée and now wife Janay Palmer Rice in an elevator of an Atlantic City casino, attended a football game at his high school alma mater in New Rochelle, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon.
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He was with Janay and their infant daughter.
According to the report, the support Rice received far outweighed the criticism of his appearance.
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"Each person 1010 WINS' Gary Baumgarten spoke with at New Rochelle High School Saturday said Rice made a mistake, he's paying for it and deserves a second chance," NewYork.CBSLocal.com reported. "Some even said they were happy he attended the game."
A sampling of the comments from others in attendance:
"I'm pretty sure there were some people probably upset, but most people were happy because everyone loves him here," one woman said.
"Pretty cool. We know him well, but what happened is very upsetting. It gives a bad image to the school. But all in all, he has done so much for us," one man told 1010 WINS.
The high school, however, took down Rice's jersey and photo from its wall of fame in response to the video.
"Students have to know that people do things that are really wrong. And in this instance, Ray did something that was really, really bad, and that there are consequences to that," Principal Reginald Richardson told NewYork.CBSLocal.com.
And a few others were not so anxious to welcome Rice's public appearance.
"I don't really have any comment. I mean, I guess he just came back to get some show of support from the team crowd," one person at the game said.
"You know, it's a family issue and he should have the decency to keep away I guess," another said.
Rice's former high school football coach said he will Rice's tale as an example to teach kids.
"Having him here today means the world to me. I've known Ray Rice since he was in 8th grade and he's had one misstep in the years that I've known him," former coach Louis DeRienzo said. "I think my kids are getting great lessons in terms of making a mistake, admitting it, not repeating it and learning from it. So what better lesson to learn from an NFL superstar?"
Do you think Ray Rice's public appearance at his high school alma mater was appropriate on in bad taste? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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