Sports

Ray Rice Talks About Domestic Violence, NFL

December 18, 2018 / 12:55 PM EST / CBS Detroit

NEW YORK (AP) —Ray Rice & wife Janay talk candidly with CBS.

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 05: Suspended Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Rice (R) and his wife Janay Palmer arrive for a hearing on November 5, 2014 in New York City. Rice is fighting his suspension after being caught beating his wife in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February 2014. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice says he's not speaking out against domestic violence as a way to rejoin the NFL.

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 07: Running back Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens looses his helmet after being tackled by strong safety Antoine Bethea #24 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL pre-season game at M&T Bank Stadium on August 7, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Appearing Tuesday in a "CBS This Morning" interview with his wife, Janay, Rice said he sees similarities with himself after a video showed Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking a woman at a hotel last month. Hunt was released by the Chiefs.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 11: Kareem Hunt #27 of the Kansas City Chiefs carries the ball during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

"Well, obviously, you know, you look back and you see the similarities," Rice said. "Early on you could feel like 'Why they keep bringing my name up?' You can make excuses or you can actually do the hard work," Rice said.

Rice was dropped from the team after he was captured on videos punching, kicking and dragging his then-fiancee from an elevator in 2014.

OWINGS MILLS, MD - MAY 23: Running back Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens looks over his notes while addressing a news conference with his wife Janay at the Ravens training center on May 23, 2014 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Rice spoke publicly for the first time since facing felony assault charges stemming from a February incident involving Janay at an Atlantic City casino. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

"I hate that person. I hate him. Somewhere down the line everybody who's sayin', 'Does he deserve a second chance for football?' And this that and the other - I actually got my second chance," Rice said, when the couple married weeks later.

Janay Rice said she had no idea she was in an abusive relationship until she was forced to think about it. She said she has never seen the video in which Rice beat her. She said it was the first and only time he physically abused her.

"I was there. I lived it. I don't really need to relive it over and over again just to appease the world," she said.

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 08: Running back Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens runs the ball against the Minnesota Vikings at M&T Bank Stadium on December 8, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens defeated the Vikings 29-26. Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

Rice denies he's looking to get back on the field.

"Well, see that for me, is something that I understand why it was being said early on about, you know, is this a ploy to get back into football. And I'll be the first one to say it. I don't have to retire to tell you I'm done with football. The pressure I was under of being a star, that was the person I hated the most," he said.

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 16: Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the bench against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of their preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

He has met with the NFL and shared his story as part of the league's domestic violence education program.

"I know they are working with groups to try to get more of an understanding. And they're doing the work," he said.