Ray Rice, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens two years ago, visited the team earlier this week to share some inspiring words with the team's rookies. According to reports, this may have been the first time the running back visited the team after he was ejected from the roster.
Rice was released by the team in late 2014 after he was involved in a physical abuse controversy. Back then, a video surfaced showing him hitting his wife Janay, who was his fiancée at that time while inside an elevator in New Jersey. The video became viral and eventually led to his contract's termination with the team.
But then, in March of 2015, the Ravens gave $1.588 million to Rice as part of a settlement deal in a wrongful-termination case. Although the incident was already settled, Rice remained a free agent since then.
Then, recently, Rice surprised the Ravens with a visit. Although details about the incident, were not made clear, ESPN noted that he was with Janay, who is currently pregnant. According to the sports news site, Rice talked to the team's rookies to tell them about his good and bad experiences with the team.
"Rice delivered an important message that included his story, both the good and the bad," the team said in a statement. "He clearly had the attention of our rookies."
As for the team, despite the inspiring visit from a former teammate, the Ravens is currently facing a problem regarding its offseason activities. These issues stem from the incident last month when the NFL called for an investigation into the team after Baltimore violated one of the league's rules by requiring rookies to wear full pads during the minicamp. The team noted that it was not aware that wearing full pads at rookie minicamps was a violation.
After carrying out the investigation, the NFL imposed a fine on coach John Harbaugh. It also penalized the entire team by cancelling a week-long offseason activity which was scheduled to run from June 1 to 3, according to Pro Football Talk.
"We made a mistake and we are sorry for that," the Ravens stated. "We accept the NFL discipline."
