Politico Reporter ‘Surprised’ By Negative Reaction To Tweets About Rice’s Wife

Now that Janay Rice has broken her silence with a forceful defense of her husband, Politico reporter Glenn Thrush feels a bit vindicated.

Thrush took heat on Monday for tweets in which he appeared to question the Baltimore Ravens for cutting running back Ray Rice following the release of video surveillance reportedly showing the running back punching his wife.

“Inconvenient truth: In terminating Ray Rice, Ravens cut income to Rice’s wife whom they now care so deeply about,” Thrush wrote in one tweet, setting off an avalanche of criticism from other users.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Janay Rice denounced the media’s coverage, describing her current situation as a “nightmare.”

“To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing,” she wrote. “To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is a horrific. THIS IS OUT LIFE! What don’t you all get.”

Thrush wrote on Twitter that Janay Rice echoed the point for which he was so sharply criticized and, in an email to TPM, he said that he was taken aback by the negative reaction.

The media’s coverage of the video surveillance, Thrush wrote, was wrong to exclude her opinion.

Below, Thrush’s email:

I made a simple point about the reporting of the case, and was surprised by the backlash: How did the team’s actions in suspending Ray Rice impact the victim of the domestic abuse? I didn’t understand how the Monday stories excluded her opinion in the first place — and I see she has spoken out today, saying that she viewed his suspension (and release of the tape) as a nightmare. Personally, I think she should leave the guy, that kind of savagery is seldom isolated. But my opinion doesn’t matter, her’s does.