Sunday, February 15, 2015

Ray Rice Issues An Apology

One year after punching his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator, Ray Rice issued an apology in the Baltimore Sun on Friday.



Dear Baltimore,
This is not a farewell or goodbye. The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for the love and support you've shown my family and I throughout my football career. We'll always be grateful for the love we've received from all of our fans and supporters, and for winning a Super Bowl. To all the kids who looked up to me, I'm truly sorry for letting you down, but I hope it's helped you learn that one bad decision can turn your dream into a nightmare. There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I hope to make a positive difference in people's lives by raising awareness of this issue. Thank you, Baltimore Ravens, for all you have done for my family and I. I'm very grateful to Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, and everyone at 1 Winning Drive. I love you all very much, and I'll always be proud to say I played for the Baltimore Ravens.
Thank you.
-- Ray Rice


The key sentence: "There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made".

Sports fans and broadcasters are quick to point out that this is the kind of statement he has to make to get back in the NFL, like becoming the running back who routinely ran for 1,000 yards a season is the most important thing.  What's more important than football is that this is the first in many steps Rice needs to take to make amends - we need to continue engaging in open/honest discussion about domestic violence and our attitudes towards it. Time to get people to realize that this is not just an issue between two people, but a public health issue.

There is no excuse for domestic violence.

2 comments:

  1. This is a public health issue. If enough people say this enough times, we may see movement. Thank you for adding your voice to the call.

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