Hundreds of Ravens fans line up to exchange Ray Rice jerseys

BALTIMORE -- Hundreds of Baltimore Ravens fans, maybe even thousands, lined up Friday morning to exchange Ray Rice jerseys at M&T Bank Stadium, CBS station WJZ-TV reports.

Last week, a video surfaced that showed Rice knocking out his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, elevator. He was cut by the team and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

Gates opened at 8 a.m. and the line was almost a half a mile long. At around 9:15 a.m. only a quarter of the fans gathered had exchanged their jerseys.

The line wraps around the building and is more than what many fans expected. Some of them waited for hours.

"Oh a long, long line. Unbelievable," said Ed Kuhn.

Kuhn expects to wait two to three hours.

Many arrived before dawn, and they just keep coming,

Gene Davis drove over an hour from the Eastern Shore.

"I think this is good," Davis said. "I think it's great idea that the Ravens organization is doing this for the fans."

Charlie Lowman drove down from Pennsylvania.

"I got a Torrey Smith (jersey). I had my choice of a couple of them, but this is what I wanted," Lowman said.

Fans say they are making a statement about their beliefs.

"No matter how people feel about the Ray Rice situation, socially it's not going to be acceptable to wear this jersey anymore," said Lindsey Holbein.

"Ray Rice signifies domestic abuse, what an employee does away from work, when you're a name brand, it matters," said Amanda Earl.

Officials said if they run out of jerseys, vouchers will be issued.

Jerseys eligible for exchange must be officially licensed by the NFL, manufactured by Nike or Reebok and purchased or have been available for purchase at the Ravens Team Store at M&T Bank Stadium or the Ravens Officials Team Store online.

Exchanges must be made in person to verify that products are licensed. Recipients will receive Nike replica jerseys based on availability at the time of exchange. Exchange is limited to one jersey per person.