Rice speaks out on domestic violence
NFL and former player team up ‘to change how men treat women.’
Just weeks after the video of the awful punch thrown by Ray Rice became public in September 2014, the NFL launched a mandatory, comprehensive domestic vi- olence and sexual assault education program for everyone who works for the league, more than 6,000 players, coaches, team staff and league office personnel.
Now, three years into the program, the NFL has decided it’s time to bring in a particularly powerful and compelling voice to talk about the issue:
Ray Rice himself.
For the first time since the months-long controversy that ostensibly ended his NFL career, Rice, 30, has a new connection with the league. He has taped an interview for what will be a 2- to 3-minute video conversation as part of the hour-long social responsibility program to be presented to teams starting in May.
“I just think there’s so much more to learn from my situation,” Rice told USA TODAY Sports in a phone interview. “My story is a real story. Part of life’s journey is just being able to tell my story now. A lot of men think, it can’t happen to me. Well, I had a clean slate and it all came down to a terrible split-second decision. I want these guys to learn from it. I want them to be better for it. I want them to be better men. I’m fortunate enough to be in contact with the league, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to tell it.”
What a turn of events, and a good one at that. Is there a man on earth more qualified to talk about the horrors of perpetrating domestic violence than Rice?
For three seasons, Rice has been considered radioactive by a league that found room, at least for a year, for another domestic abuser, the unrepentant Greg Hardy. Rice remained a pariah, untouchable, even as he apologized every time he faced a microphone.
Unable to get a tryout with an NFL team, he has embarked on a new role, spending a good portion of the past two years speaking in front of high schools, colleges and other groups, about 25 in all by his count, trying to prevent young men from doing what he did.
“The one thing I can’t and won’t do is back down from my story,” Rice said. “It’s a pretty big goal to have, to change how men treat women, but that’s my journey. Whether it’s in the NFL video or the groups I speak with, I never sugarcoat what happened. I take full responsibility. I went down the wrong path and I was not man enough to ask for help. I want others to not make the mistakes I made.”
The NFL came to Rice as it planned its program for its fourth year of social responsibility education, which is focused on prevention and bystander intervention. The program, devised by the NFL with several domestic violence advisers and experts, also includes, among others, a discussion with Steve Smith Sr., Jason Witten and Torrey Smith, all of whom grew up in violent households.
But Rice, who volunteered his time, will draw the most attention.
“Ray speaks openly about the series of unhealthy choices he made, about how he got to where he was when he was in that elevator in 2014,” Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility, said by phone. “He talks about how he has taken a terrible moment in his life, and the life of his family, and how he can take what he has learned and help the next generation of men think critically to make healthy choices in their lives. His story has been so public and so intertwined with the NFL’s story on this issue that his words will resonate with everyone in the NFL.”
Rice and his wife, Janay Palmer Rice, the woman he hit in the elevator in 2014, had a young daughter at the time the controversy exploded and now have a 7month-old son. Rice said he hasn’t given up hope of playing again in the NFL but understands why he hasn’t.
“I’m not really surprised,” he said. “I put myself in that situation. I think that’s part of taking full responsibility. I didn’t waste any time trying to figure out why I’m not playing, even though I’m not giving up. I don’t want the story to be written that I gave up. My body and mind are still physically able to do it, but I understand the situation I’m in.”
He knows he will forever be remembered as the man who punched his then-fiancée in that elevator. “I’m not proud of the night that happened at all,” he said. “I think about it almost every day. I know one day I’ll have to tell my kids about what happened. Obviously, me and my wife will be the first ones to tell them. That’s going to be a tough thing to do.” What will he say? “It’s inexcusable, but Daddy made the worst decision of his life and has been working hard every day ever since to overcome it.”