It appears Ray Rice has a few supporters in his quest to get back on an NFL roster.
According to Adam Schefter, an anti violence group is calling for Rice to get a second chance. The co-founders of “A CALL TO MEN,” a national organization that encourages men to end violence against women, are advocating that Rice get signed by a team.
Tony Porter and Ted Bunch, the groups co-founders, each of whom has worked with Rice since November, believe Rice deserves an opportunity to be an NFL running back again.
“We have been around a lot of abusive men, but our experience with Ray has been tremendously positive,” Porter said this past weekend. “We feel strongly about him having the opportunity of having a second chance. He’s deserving of it.”
Porter and Bunch have worked up-close with Rice, watching him speak to athletes all across the country, while sharing a message about learning from mistakes and growing from them.
“He’s held himself accountable,” Bunch said. “He is saying everything that you would want him to say and doing everything that you would want him to do. So why wouldn’t he deserve another chance? His work in the area of educating young men is more important than him getting back on the field. He knows that and has said that to us. He is seeing the bigger picture. He has a desire to compete again, but also to make a difference in the world. This is what mistakes should be about; learning from them and teaching others. We’ve been in front of a lot of batterers. He is as transparent as I’ve seen, and as sincere as I’ve seen.”
Off the field stuff aside, Rice’s last two season as a full-time player weren’t that productive. He’ll have to convince teams that he can still produce as well.
