Janay Rice defends husband

The woman who was knocked out cold by her husband’s fist — is now throwing some jabs of her own. Janay Palmer, now Rice, the wife of disgraced Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, has jumped to the defence of her husband on social media.

Videotape surfaced yesterday showing Ray Rice and his wife Janay in a Las Vegas hotel elevator — where Rice threw a single, vicious punch to the face of his then-fiancée — and knocked her unconscious.

That videotape prompted a visceral response from the public, the team, and the NFL.

Rice was dropped by the Ravens, the NFL put him on indefinite suspension, and fans began to burn jerseys bearing the running back’s name and number, in protest. That prompted the team to announce that fans can exchange their jerseys at stadium stores. And at least two Baltimore eateries are offering pizza, or free beer, to anyone that turns in a Rice jersey.

This morning, Janay Palmer took to her Instagram account to issue an emotional defence of her husband. On the Instagram post, Palmer said:

“I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself.”

“No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing.”

“To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get.”

“If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away — you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! RavensNation, we love you!”

Janay Palmer reiterated her support for her husband late this afternoon, in a brief interview with ESPN where she said:  “I love my husband. I support him. I want people to respect our privacy in this family matter.”

Now as for Rice, he has been dropped by Nike, a major sports endorsement contract. But according to SPORT-Trac, a website that tracks major sports contracts, Rice should still be on solid financial ground for a while.

According to the website — Rice had a contract that was front-end loaded with Baltimore, meaning that he has already received, and will probably get to keep, most of the 25-million dollars that the Ravens agreed to pay him.