--- description: First public comments since suspension from NFL title: Ray Rice: 'I'm Holding Strong' In Response to Video, NFL Suspension image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc2b6c34bc71a187/6986a283f983e77b8c04f8a4/ray-rice3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [NFL](/tag/nfl/) ## NFL Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ray Rice: 'I'm Holding Strong'  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 9, 2014 6:49 PM CUT  Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the bench against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of their preseason game at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the bench against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of their preseason game at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.Ronald Martinez—Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 9, 2014 6:49 PM CUT Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice said Tuesday that he’s “holding strong,” in [his first public comments](http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/09/us/ray-rice-nfl-janay-rice/index.html?hpt=hp%5Ft1 "undefined") since the publication of a video that showed him punching his then-fiancée in the face led the Ravens to cut him and the NFL to suspend him indefinitely. Rice was suspended by the NFL for two games after he was charged in February with assault and a video showing him dragging an unconscious Janay Rice, now his wife, out of the elevator was published by TMZ. The NFL [suspended him indefinitely](http://time.com/3304691/baltimore-ravens-release-ray-rice/ "undefined") and the Baltimore Ravens [terminated his contract](http://time.com/3304691/baltimore-ravens-release-ray-rice/ "undefined") on Monday after TMZ published video of him punching Janay, Janay Rice spoke out against media attention on her and her husband Tuesday. “No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family,” [she wrote on Instagram](http://time.com/3308901/janay-rice-ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens/ "undefined"). “To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3311734/ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens-abuse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3311734/ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens-abuse/"},"headline":"Ray Rice: 'I'm Holding Strong'","datePublished":"2014-09-09T18:49:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:05:26.171Z","description":"First public comments since suspension from NFL","url":"https://time.com/3311734/ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens-abuse/","keywords":["NFL"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc2b6c34bc71a187/6986a283f983e77b8c04f8a4/ray-rice3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc2b6c34bc71a187/6986a283f983e77b8c04f8a4/ray-rice3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the bench against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of their preseason game at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.","caption":"Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the bench against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of their preseason game at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.","creditText":"Ronald Martinez—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nfl/","name":"NFL"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3311734/ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens-abuse/","name":"Ray Rice: 'I'm Holding Strong'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ray Rice Apology","description":"Ray Rice Apology","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Fu9CAHZT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-31T18:54:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fu9CAHZT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3311734/ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens-abuse/","duration":"PT1M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3311734/ray-rice-nfl-baltimore-ravens-abuse/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```