Earlier today (Sept. 9) Janay Rice, wife of NFL running back Ray Rice, spoke out on behalf of her husband via her Instagram account in wake of the footage of him assaulting her in an elevator being released.
When the story originally broke in February, the only footage available showed the aftermath of the assault in which Rice dragged his then fiancée’s unconscious body out of an elevator at an Atlantic City hotel. Based on this footage and the story told to teammates and league officials, Rice was given a two game suspension, considered by many to be a slap on the wrist.
Months after Rice’s “punishment” was handed down, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted to “dropping the ball” with handling of the incident and implemented new guidelines for domestic abuse on behalf of its players. Under the new guidelines, a first domestic abuse offense leads to a six game suspension with a second leading to a lifetime ban.
However, after the full footage was released yesterday (Sept. 8) showing Ray punching Janay twice with a closed fist and knocking her out, the NFL quickly reacted to public outcry and suspended Rice indefinitely, along with the Baltimore Ravens terminating his contract.
In her Instagram post, Janay Rice accuses the media of ruining their lives in order to gain ratings. See her message below:
