Ray Rice says assault on wife was 'one bad night'

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has said his assault on his wife Janay was “one bad night” and he has learned from his mistakes.

Janay Rice was knocked unconscious during the assault at an Atlantic City casino in February. Rice was eventually released by the Ravens and given an indefinite suspension by the NFL, which was then overturned last week. The three-time Pro Bowler is now looking for a new team, and Rice said on Tuesday he takes full responsibility for the incident.

“[A new team] would have to be willing to look deeper into who I am and realise that me and my wife had one bad night, and I took full responsibility for it,” Rice said in an interview with the Today show. “And one thing about my punishment and everything going along with anything that happened is that I’ve accepted it. I went fully forward with it. I never complained, or I never did anything like that. I took full responsibility for everything that I did, and the only thing I can hope for and wish for is a second chance.”

Rice added that he made a “horrendous mistake” when he failed to publicly apologise to Janay at a press conference in May. Rice said he was sorry for the “situation” but did not apologise to his wife – an omission that drew widespread criticism.

“The reason why that press conference was the way it was, was because we were still under legal situations,” said Rice. “So there wasn’t much that could be said, but I’ll be honest, we were nervous, I was nervous, and that was the first time we were available to speak. And I made a horrendous mistake not apologising to my wife.

“We were given what to speak about. It wasn’t truly coming from us, if you can understand, but I made that clear in my last time I was able to speak that my wife is an angel. She can do no wrong. I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Rice’s interview comes amid a tumultuous time for the NFL. Several high-profile players have been involved in cases of domestic abuse. Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson is appealing an indefinite suspension for hitting his four-year-old son with a switch.

Rice said he now understands the gravity of domestic abuse and the damage it can cause.

“I realise football was one thing, but now I realise that the amount of people we’ve affected, the amount of families we’ve affected, that domestic violence is a real issue in society,” said Rice. “We could take our one bad night – it just happened to be on video – but we are truly sorry to the people that are really going through it. You know, it’s a real problem. And I know when the time is right, I know my wife wants to help, I know I want to help.”

On Monday, Janay Rice gave an interview to the Today show in which she said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell lied when he said her husband had been “ambiguous” about the assault. Goodell has been under pressure over what many see as his mishandling of the case.