Ray Rice Makes Pitch For 2nd Chance in NFL
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Former Ravens running back Ray Rice hasn't generated a lot of interest from NFL teams since Baltimore parted ways with him in 2014 following his arrest for a domestic violence incident.
The closest a team came to signing Rice, since TMZ published video of him punching out his then-fiance at a hotel in Atlantic City, N.J, was last year when the Cleveland Browns talked internally about bringing him in for a tryout, CBS Sports reports. Not helping his case at securing a second shot in the league is that his last season in the NFL in 2013, his numbers paled in comparison to the production that made him, for a time, one of the league's elite at running back.
RELATED: Ray Rice Returns To Baltimore, Tries To Repair Image
Nonetheless, Rice has wasted no effort as his window of opportunity closes to convince any one of the 32 NFL teams that he's worth taking a gamble on. He's vowed to donate any money he receives from a new contract to domestic violence charities, he has volunteered his time working with youth athletes; and he has spent his time training should a team decide to give him a call.
Last week, Ray Rice spoke candidly with 105.7 The Fan's Jerry Coleman and CBS Sports Jason La Canfora about what he's been doing off the field since leaving the Ravens and what he could bring to an NFL locker room, should he make a return.
Here's an excerpt:
"It's going to have to be an owner that is willing to give me a second chance. I go out on a day-to-day basis, and I wish I had an answer for fans that say, 'We want you back,' and as much as guys are saying, 'We want you on our team,' a lot of guys are saying, 'We want you back in the league, whether it's helping out in the league or whether it's playing.' I know it's something there I can help with, whether it's in the locker room or in the community or quite frankly, whether it's getting Fantasy points for people who love the game.
"And I'm not saying I willingly deserve a second chance. I'm not. But I will say that if there was one guy who took his situation and owned it from day one, doing everything he can to make his wrongs right, taking care of his family and trying to spread a message of how domestic violence cannot be tolerated ... Any violence of any kind is wrong, but domestic violence, there is no place for it ... I'm out spreading that message because of everything I've been through. I don't want to see anyone else go through anything like what me and my wife went through, but I'm willing to help, man, and I know being in an NFL locker room what I can do to help a young man."
