Ray Rice is a three-time Pro Bowler, and yet after one lackluster season he remains unsigned after training camps have opened. Rice had a bad 2013 in which his yards per carry dropped by more than a full yard, and then in the offseason he became arguably the most hated man in football.
Rice was initially suspended two games for striking his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City elevator; once video of the incident leaked, showing Rice knocking her unconscious, and dragging her out of the elevator, his suspension was upped to indefinite. The Ravens cut him, and he hasn't been on a roster since.
In the time since the incident Rice has made all the right moves, apologizing profusely at every turn and even earning the favor of women's rights groups for his attempts at rehabilitation. Perhaps the most startling evidence for Rice being given another chance is the support he's receiving from his own wife-the same woman he hit in that elevator.
Janay Rice told ESPN's Jemele Hill that she'd never been hit before that night. "Never happened before, and that's not him. He's been made out to be this monster and he's not a wife beater. He's someone who made a mistake, he's human," Janay said. "He's done everything he's supposed to do to redeem himself."
Meanwhile Ray Rice also did an interview, in which he nearly broke down asking himself why, after punching his fiancée, he didn't help her up. He said that he experienced what it's like to not want to live anymore, but called himself a "rehabilitated man" ready to re-join the NFL if given the chance.
"I always preach one or two bad decisions, your dream can become a nightmare. Well, I had to eat my own words. I truly lived a nightmare. There's no set in stone whether you're going to get a second or chance or not. But I understand my hope and my faith, and everything else that I'm doing in my life. I'm just really hopeful for a second chance," Ray Rice said.
He also called playing in the NFL a "privilege" and accepted that some will not be able to get over his violence. "To the survivors of domestic violence, I understand how real it is. I'll never take that for granted. It's a real issue in our society. My video put the light out there if you've never seen what domestic violence looks like. I can understand why some people will never forgive me."
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