LYNCHBURG, Va. – Former Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Rice was in the Hill City on Wednesday to speak to Liberty University students about domestic violence and the different forms in which it comes.
The 30-year-old addressed the 2014 video of him beating and dragging his then-fiancée out of an elevator.
Rice said his past mistakes have helped him change his life, and he now uses those mistakes as a platform to speak to young men.
He talked about how his father died when he was very young and he watched his mother suffer from verbal abuse in her past relationship.
In hindsight, he said, it had an effect on in his adulthood.
He now coaches young boys in his hometown in New York and uses football as a tool to relate to those who may have grown up in the same situation.
"I was once one of those kids. I just happened to not ask for the help. So, if there's one thing I can teach them, is to ask for help. I think that's what sports (can do), kind of use the tool to drive more of these tough conversations,” Rice said.
After the convocation, Rice spoke with student-athletes.