Ray Rice, the former NFL running back whose career ended after he assaulted his then-fiancee — the charges were dropped — will be honored by his former team Sunday.
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The Baltimore Ravens selected Rice to be the “Legend of the Game” and issued extremely tone-deaf, passive remarks in the announcement:
“In 2014, Rice’s incident ended his career and put him in the center of a national conversation about domestic violence.
Rice is being recognized for the player he was, and for the redemption he has worked towards. Out of the public eye, Rice has been working on himself, his relationship, and within the community.”
As had been previously reported, Rice was seen on video knocking Janay Palmer unconscious and dragging her out of the elevator of an Atlantic City casino.
“I knew it would be hard to forgive me, but the one thing I have been consistent with was that I was going to be better. I’m not going to be a victim of my past,” Rice said. “My legacy won’t be domestic violence. My legacy will be what I became after.”
However, honoring a player with a checkered past is nothing new for Baltimore, who inducted Ray Lewis — who had double murder charges against him (later dropped) — into its Ring of Honor, alongside Jamal Lewis, who served jail time after pleading guilty to using a cell phone to try to set up a drug deal.
So much for the character clause.