Ray Rice’s Wife Defends Him and Criticizes the Media
/Janay Rice said her life has turned into a nightmare after her husband, the running back Ray Rice, was released Monday by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the N.F.L.
“I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend,” she wrote in a post on Instagram Tuesday, according to The Baltimore Sun. “But to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself.”
Janay Rice’s Instagram account is private, but The Sun said it confirmed that her statement was intended to be public.
Janay Rice blamed the news media for her husband’s dismissal and suspension. On Monday, the celebrity gossip website TMZ released a graphic video of Ray Rice punching and knocking out his future wife in an elevator in a hotel in Atlantic City in February.
The new footage prompted the team to sever its contract with Rice. The N.F.L., which had suspended Rice for two games, barred him indefinitely Monday.
“No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family,” Janay Rice wrote. “To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing.”
The Ravens had not taken any public action against Rice until Monday. Coach John Harbaugh stood by Rice throughout the summer, and on Monday, he told reporters that he would be willing to help Rice and his wife if needed.
But the team continues to cut ties with him. The Ravens announced that they would offer an exchange for his jerseys at stadium stores. The Patriots did the same last year after tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder.
