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Janay Rice Followed Ravens’ Script When She Apologized For Role In Assault

By Patrick Schmidt

Nov 5, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Janay Rice, wife of suspended NFL running back Ray Rice (not pictured) exits a car in front of Ray Rice attorney Peter Ginsberg (right) to enter the building where Rice will appeal his indefinite NFL suspension. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY
Nov 5, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Janay Rice, wife of suspended NFL running back Ray Rice (not pictured) exits a car in front of Ray Rice attorney Peter Ginsberg (right) to enter the building where Rice will appeal his indefinite NFL suspension. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY /
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Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice won his appeal of his indefinite suspension stemming from his assault on his then-fiancee Janay Palmer and now the wife of Rice is telling her side of the story of that fateful February night in an Atlantic City Casino elevator where the assault took place

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Ray Rice is eligible to return to the football after winning his appeal over an indefinite suspension handed down on Sept. 8 when video surfaced of him punching his fiancee Janay Palmer in the face and rendering her unconscious and now she is revealing her account to ESPN’s Jemelle Hill.

Janay talks about how they first met, developed a friendship and ultimately a relationship, but the heart of the retelling stems from the incident that took place inside the elevator of an Atlantic City casino elevator that threatened to end Rice’s NFL career and the aftermath that ensued once video of the attack was made public.

The most troubling aspects of her recollection is not that they were married the day after he was indicted for aggravated assault but her apologizing for her role in the assault and her taking part in a joint press conference at the urging of the Ravens.

"“The Ravens just said it was something that they felt we should do. I thought it would be good for people to see Ray publicly taking ownership for what he did. I thought it also might help humanize us. The only images out there of us were from that video. I wanted everyone to see who we really are and to understand that I have a voice for myself.”"

She later said she followed the script the Ravens outlined for them as they would not be taking any questions from the gathered media who had made her upset and she wanted to express what had been on her mind which led to her apologizing for her role in getting knocked unconscious by her fiancee.

“When it was my turn to speak, I said I regretted my role in the incident. I know some people disagreed with me publicly apologizing. I’m not saying that what Ray did wasn’t wrong. He and I both know it was wrong. It’s been made clear to him that it was wrong. But at the same time, who am I to put my hands on somebody? I had already apologized to Ray, and I felt that I should take responsibility for what I did. Even though this followed the Ravens’ suggested script, I owned my words.”

Janay wants people to understand that she and Ray are real people and real people make mistakes and that they love each other and are in a good place because of her closer relationship with God. She also thinks their story bringing domestic violence to the forefront of the news cycle and how it is an epidemic across the country and the world can be a positive.

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