Ray Rice's letter to Baltimore

[757RavensFan]

 

Dear Baltimore,

This is not a farewell or goodbye. The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for the love and support you've shown my family and I throughout my football career. We'll always be grateful for the love we've received from all of our fans and supporters, and for winning a Super Bowl. To all the kids who looked up to me, I'm truly sorry for letting you down, but I hope it's helped you learn that one bad decision can turn your dream into a nightmare. There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I hope to make a positive difference in people's lives by raising awareness of this issue. Thank you, Baltimore Ravens, for all you have done for my family and I. I'm very grateful to Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, and everyone at 1 Winning Drive. I love you all very much, and I'll always be proud to say I played for the Baltimore Ravens.

Thank you.

-- Ray Rice

 

 

 

This was in today's Baltimore Sun. 

God bless you Ray and your family.  Wishing you the best. Thanks for everything you've done for the city of Baltimore. 

[Purple Punishment]

This was in today's Baltimore Sun.

God bless you Ray and your family. Wishing you the best. Thanks for everything you've done for the city of Baltimore.

That says a lot for a team that pretty much turned their back on him

[FastEddie]

That says a lot for a team that pretty much turned their back on him

 

I wouldn't say that the Ravens turned their back on him. They were forced to release obviously, but Harbaugh was pretty open to supporting him and Janay while they were going through the legal side. 

[Militant X 1]

Thanks for all of the wonderful "football" memories Ray and I wish you and your family nothing but the best of luck as you continue your career.  Godspeed.

[Alaska Alaska!]

That says a lot for a team that pretty much turned their back on him

Turn their back on him?  The Ravens made a business decision and terminated RR contract obviously because his incident was beginning to take a toll that, from a business standpoint, the franchise could no longer handle.  But have Steve, Ozzie, and Harbs personally turned their back on Ray?  Have they not publicly (and god knows the support they've given him privately) supported Ray?

 

In many corporate and public offices, Ray would have been fired.  So why is it with the Ravens, an agency where they're in the middle of the public eye, that it is then considered a betrayal?  This whole "The Ravens back stabbed him" cry from Ravens "fans" is utterly ridiculous and easily makes the top 10 list for the most ignorant statements that have come out of a Raven's fan's mouth. 

[Purple Punishment]

Turn their back on him? The Ravens made a business decision and terminated RR contract obviously because his incident was beginning to take a toll that, from a business standpoint, the franchise could no longer handle. But have Steve, Ozzie, and Harbs personally turned their back on Ray? Have they not publicly (and god knows the support they've given him privately) supported Ray?

In many corporate and public offices, Ray would have been fired. So why is it with the Ravens, an agency where they're in the middle of the public eye, that it is then considered a betrayal? This whole "The Ravens back stabbed him" cry from Ravens "fans" is utterly ridiculous and easily makes the top 10 list for the most ignorant statements that have come out of a Raven's fan's mouth.

For one, I didn't say backstab. I said turned their backs. Did AP get released? Ray McDonald? Charles Johnson? No. Teams stood by their man. Our team didn't. The claim for release is that Ray lied about the events. Our own GM put that baby to rest. I never said back stabbed. I said turned their backs.

[The Raven]

For one, I didn't say backstab. I said turned their backs. Did AP get released? Ray McDonald? Charles Johnson? No. Teams stood by their man. Our team didn't. The claim for release is that Ray lied about the events. Our own GM put that baby to rest. I never said back stabbed. I said turned their backs.

 

Sure, but Dick Cass and Bisciotti, the men who write the checks, heavily implied they were lied to. And maybe we're right to cut him. Maybe the other teams are wrong. Whatever. Don't want to rehash it again. The incident doesn't really matter anymore. It's done with and everyone has moved on.

 

Regardless, I appreciate what Ray did for us on the field, and I do wish him the best. People make mistakes, and they should face consequences, but I also believe in second chances. I hope he makes the most of his.

[Alaska Alaska!]

For one, I didn't say backstab. I said turned their backs. Did AP get released? Ray McDonald? Charles Johnson? No. Teams stood by their man. Our team didn't. The claim for release is that Ray lied about the events. Our own GM put that baby to rest. I never said back stabbed. I said turned their backs.

Out of all those players you listed, who was chastised the most by the media and the public?  Which of those players had video evidence of their crime?  You can't even compare Ray's case to the rest.  His case started the whole "No More" commercials for pete's sake. 

[Gordo52]

Miss you, 27. Hope you get a second chance somewhere nice.

[Moderator 3]

Come on, people, can't we just say goodbye and wish him well without fighting over the whole mess again? Let it go, I'm begging you.

[berad]

Thanks for all of the wonderful "football" memories Ray and I wish you and your family nothing but the best of luck as you continue your career.  Godspeed.

 

Well said.

[usmccharles]

I will always remember the 4th and 29...wish it could of turned out better for both sides.

[52520Andrew]

Wish him well, classy thing to do after everything that happened. No hard feelings for Rice or the team, just a really bad situation and it is now time to learn what we can from it and move on.

[CalvinSmoke]

Classy move Ray, much love

[K-Dog]

Thanks for taking the time to do this Ray.

Best of luck to you and if you can do us fans one small favor.

DO NOT PLAY FOR PITTSBURGH.

Thank you.

[ravensdfan]

Best of luck to you and yours, Ray Rice. 4th & 29 will always be remembered!

[Social Services]

I agree with everyone here.  God bless Ray Rice!  Aside from this one little mistake, he has been a model human being.

[mg90]

I agree with everyone here. God bless Ray Rice! Aside from this one little mistake, he has been a model human being.

Kind of a big mistake. But otherwise yes.

[Purple Nurple]

Everyone deserves a second chance. Without them, I'd be nothing.

[Moderator 2]

Buffalo with Rex maybe? I Almost cried when I read this, I pray they get their lives together and he will be missed.

[GrimCoconut]

Good luck except when we play you

[AsianRice]

My children still have #27 Jersey and hard to forget what you have done to the Ravens nation, the fans, and the community.  It's been great journey leading up to winning our second Super Bowl.  Don't let the past stopping you from being a great community person.  Wish you and your family the best....

[Grapple Raven]

Ray,

 

I hope that when your career and life are over, that the public will be able to look back and know that you gleaned the life lessons that need to be acquired from this incident and that you moved on to do even greater good, because you appear to me as that type of guy.  I hope that at the end this will only be a small mark on an otherwise stellar record for a life that shows redemption is possible.  If anyone can do it you can.

 

Best wishes to you and your family as you move forward in this life,

Grapple

 

 

“Between the radiant white of a clear conscience and the coal black of a conscience sullied by sin lie many shades of gray--where most of us live our lives. Not perfect but not beyond redemption.”
― Sherry L. Hoppe

[flynismo]

This is the guy people tried to demonize, smh...Ray is still a better man than most; best of luck to him

[Tank 92]

I despise TMZ.

[Ravenseconbeast]

That was class. Ray was a good guy. He shouldn't have done it. No excuses. But I wish him the best.

Even if his NFL career is over, I hope he can live a healthy lifestyle and not go broke like few football folks do.

[Purple Punishment]

I hope he ends up somewhere like Green Bay, Buffalo, or Seattle. Maybe Detroit. Someone will want him. Love to see him come out of the Backfield for Rodgers

[FerrariFan87]

We'll always have "4th and 26"!! Very classy of Ray, and he will be missed here. One drunken night doesn't define any one. He deserves a second chance.

[TuckerTime9]

Reading through what people say about Ray on these forums and what is said on different websites is like night and day. "Woman-beater" is one of the many names being used to describe Rice by many, and it sickens me. Because he made one mistake that makes him a women beater? Have you ever lied in your life? Because then you are a liar and untrustworthy. Now thats not truly how I feel, just an example of the hypocrisy behind people saying Rice doesn't deserve another shot because of what happened. Lets face reality people, no one is perfect, no one will ever be perfect. Everybody makes mistakes and that allows us to learn from our mistakes and become better human beings. Ray Rice should be welcomed back into the NFL so that he has a shot to learn from his mistakes.

 

I applaud you my fellow Ravens fans, I'm glad that I get to be part of a fanbase with fans as classy as you all. I wish Ray Rice the best of luck through the rest of his life and will always be thankful for what he did for OUR Baltimore Ravens. God bless

[gtalk12]

I hope that he and his wife have grown from this situation. What happened was very ugly and I hope that's in the past.

 

Good luck and thank you for giving the Ravens all you had while on the field.