Details Surface About Ravens' Ray Rice Settlement
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- In his own words, for the first time, Ray Rice spoke out exclusively to our media partner, the Baltimore Sun. It comes as Rice seeks to re-enter the NFL and we learn how much it cost the Ravens to sever its ties with him.
Mary Bubala has more.
In a wide-ranging interview with our media partner, the Baltimore Sun, Ray Rice spoke out about the most turbulent year of his life: the aftermath of hitting his now-wife Janay, losing his job and igniting a national conversation about domestic violence.
"I learned that when things go wrong, sometimes you just can't jump out to the forefront and try to fix it right away. You have to be patient. This year, I learned what patience is all about. I also learned a lot about myself that I didn't know and that's when the counseling came in," Rice said.
Rice describes being stripped down to his core emotionally and experiencing dark moments. He told the Sun, "You almost want to punish yourself. Honestly, I almost felt like at one point that it wasn't worth living. I see why people commit suicide."
Rice also shared how he learned how to show real love to his wife.
"Sometimes the love that we show because we are athletes is not real love. We want to show love in material," he said. "You know, just a simple hug. Hug your wife, kiss your wife, tell her you love her."
Rice also addresses how hard it will be to move on from Baltimore as he attempts to sign with another NFL team. The Ravens terminated his $35 million contract in September. Rice filed a grievance and, according to Baltimore Sun sources, the two sides ended up settling for $1.58 million.
"That's going to be a hard pill to swallow, to leave Baltimore like that because truly, I felt I had unfinished business here," he said.
Rice is moving back to New York somewhere near his hometown of New Rochelle.
Next week, he is hoping for a second chance with a new NFL team when they can start signing free agents. He remains a free agent after being reinstated from an indefinite suspension in November.