National Football League

John Harbaugh explains why he is 'proud' of Ray Rice since incident

Published Jul. 31, 2014 8:16 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Baltimore Ravens should probably stop talking about Ray Rice, but they’re not done quite yet.

The star running back was suspended just two games after assaulting his then-fiancée in a casino elevator in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the NFL has drawn quite a bit of criticism for what many people see as being unable to recognize the seriousness of domestic violence.

But the Ravens continue their support of Rice, and coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that he believes Rice has comported himself well through all of the turmoil.

“I love the way he’s handled it,” Harbaugh said via ProFootballTalk. “I hate what happened. What happened was wrong, flat out. The thing I appreciate about it is how Ray has handled it afterwards by acknowledging that it was wrong and he’ll do everything he can do to make it right. That’s what you ask for when someone does a wrong thing.

“So I’m proud of him for that, from that standpoint. And for anybody out there who’s going to misconstrue that and just write, ‘John Harbaugh is proud of Ray,’ then shame on you. I’m proud of him for the way he’s handled it, OK? Disappointed in what happened, but you go forward. You know, you go forward. That’s what we’re going to do as a football team, and that’s what we’re going to do as an individual, he’ll do as an individual.”

Still, Harbaugh wouldn’t comment on what he personally thought of the length of the suspension. Rice is expected to address the media Thursday, so Baltimore will likely make some headlines yet again.

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