Janay Rice speaks
For the first time since her husband was cut from the Baltimore Ravens, Janay Rice [formerly Palmer] sits down with ESPN for a 3-hour interview, where she reacts to her husband, Ray Rice’s reinstatement to the NFL, her elevator knockout video going viral and their future.
Check out a few of highlights from her interview below:
On the timing of the couple’s marriage, which many had viewed as a legal move:
“We were married March 28, the day after he was indicted for aggravated assault. We didn’t choose that day because of the indictment. It just happened to be a Friday and a time when our families could attend our wedding without having to interrupt their work schedules. I didn’t understand why that was suspicious to some people. We’d been together seven years and had been engaged for two. What happened that night wasn’t going to change the fact that we were going to get married.”
On the video footage of her attack being released:
It was six o’clock in the morning on Sept. 8, nearly seven months after the incident. Ray’s manager was the first one to call. I heard Ray on the phone, and based off the way he responded, I thought somebody had died.
When he got off the phone, he told me the whole video had been released. I just went into a shell. I started crying. We knew it was going to be another media storm. We didn’t know what to do. I sent out a text to everybody close to me: “The video’s out. I would ask you not to watch it.” I know some of them probably did. But I refused to.
I was over this, and I didn’t need the visual. How was seeing it going to help me? I knew that would only bring me back there. After Ray watched it, I asked him not to look at it again, because I knew it was only the devil trying to come in and ruin how far we’ve come. I refused to go backwards.
The awkward press conference:
“I know some people disagreed with me publicly apologizing. I’m not saying that what Ray did wasn’t wrong. He and I both know it was wrong. It’s been made clear to him that it was wrong. But at the same time, who am I to put my hands on somebody? ”
On how they met:
The first time Ray and I met was at the local movie theater in New Rochelle. I was 14 years old and he was 15. I was standing outside with a friend when he came up to me. I don’t remember much, except that he said I was pretty and I reminded him of Alicia Keys. I remember everyone walking by knowing him and coming up to just shake his hand. I had no clue Ray was a football player. I’m from New Rochelle’s rival town, Mt. Vernon where we eat, sleep, breathe basketball, so Ray knew from day one I wasn’t impressed by Ray Rice the football player. After continually asking for my number, I gave it to him and we’ve been friends ever since.
We started talking regularly and began building a friendship. He was a good guy and what I loved most was he made me laugh. We were friends for about five years, but didn’t date. During the summer of 2007, he started coming home from Rutgers a lot, and we just kept running into each other. I loved the fact that he had such a huge heart, and put everyone else first. I will always remember the time we went to the Galleria Mall and he bought sneakers and clothes for all his siblings and family members, but not one thing for himself. He always made me feel like the most special woman in the world. We started seeing and talking to each other more, and it grew into a relationship.
While it appears that Janay is intent on standing by her man and placing blame on alcohol and other possible addictions, we hope that the couple seeks out extensive professional help. These two are clearly set on moving on and putting this behind them. But will America let them? Will Rice ever play in the NFL again? Only time will tell. – ruu hawkins
