Janay Rice revealed Monday that the Baltimore Ravens suggested she apologize for her “role” in the assault that later got her husband booted from the team and temporarily suspended from the NFL.
During a May press conference, Rice said she regretted the role she played the night her then-fiancé, former Ravens running back Ray Rice, knocked her unconscious in the elevator of an Atlantic City, N.J. hotel. Both she and her husband were arrested after the incident, which occurred in February.
In an interview with NBC News’ Matt Lauer, Rice explained that she thought participating in the press conference would boost both the couple’s image in the media and her husband’s career.
“[The Ravens] basically gave us a general script” and suggested that she issue an apology, Rice told Lauer.
“I was basically — not doing what I was told but at the same time I didn’t think it was completely wrong for me to apologize,” she added. “Because at the end of the day, I got arrested too.”
But Rice said she also understood why the apology didn’t sit well with the public.
In another part of the interview, Rice said she couldn’t vouch that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was “telling the truth” with regards to what he knew about the assault and when. Goodell had said that Ray Rice was “ambiguous” when he explained what happened in the elevator.
“I know for a fact that Ray told the honest truth that he’s been telling from February,” she told Lauer.
When Lauer asked if Goodell and the league were trying to “cover their butts,” Rice responded “I think they did what they had to do for themselves.”
An NFL arbitrator granted Ray Rice’s appeal of his indefinite suspension on Friday.
