Ray Rice Pleading For 2nd Chance In NFL: 'I'm A Rehabilitated Man'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Former Raven Ray Rice goes on national television, saying he's been rehabilitated. He's pleading for a second chance in the NFL. So far, no team has hired him.
Sports Director Mark Viviano with the running back's emotional words on ESPN.
Ray Rice says he understands why some people call him a monster and why they will never forgive him, but says he's moving forward with hope and faith.
His glory days with the Ravens are long gone, but Ray Rice hasn't given up on his football career.
In an interview with ESPN, Rice makes an appeal for his return to the NFL.
"I'm not afraid to say right now that I feel like I'm a rehabilitated man," he said.
Rehabilitated, but facing a significant road block in his quest to find a team to give him another chance. That road block is the videotape of Rice's domestic assault in a New Jersey casino elevator.
He says the incident still haunts him, and at one point, led him to suicidal thoughts.
To this day, Rice says what pains him most is reflecting on how he failed to give aid after he struck his fiancee.
"Just leaving her there, how could I have done that? So in my mind, how could you not help her up in that moment," Rice said.
The incident may forever cloud Rice's reputation. He says he gets that, but still believes there's football in his future. He doesn't want to hang up his cleats just yet.
"I have a lot of hope and faith that I'll be able to hang them up the right way. That's what's keeping me going. That's what's keeping me working," said Rice.
In the interview, Rice says no one questions his football ability. But at age 28 and a sub-par season when he last played, teams may be wary of what Rice has left.
Rice says he is fully recovered from a hip injury that affected his performance in 2013.