Baltimore Ravens

Does Rice deserve the second chance so many want him to get?

Published Jul. 28, 2015 5:25 a.m. ET

foxsports

With training camps opening and the battles for positions to begin, time for free agents to get into camp and compete for one of those sports is winding down, and heating up.

And perhaps no free agent carries a bigger name -- and more baggage -- than former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.

Rice, 28, did not play in the NFL last season after he punched his fiancee and knocked her unconscious in a casino elevator in February 2014. He was suspended, then released by the Ravens, then reinstated into the league in November after winning an appeal of his suspension. But no team took a chance on him.

This season a group of supporters, including his former college coach Greg Schiano, are reaching out to teams, trying to get him a tryout. Despite those efforts being to date unsuccessful, an anti-domestic violence group on Monday publicly advocated for Rice to get a second chance in the NFL.

According to ESPN, Tony Porter and Ted Bunch, co-founders of A Call To Men, have been working with Rice since November and believes he should get his second shot.

"We have been around a lot of abusive men, but our experience with Ray has been tremendously positive," Porter told ESN’s Adam Schefter. "We feel strongly about him having the opportunity of having a second chance. He's deserving of it."

Rice has since married that same fiancee, Janay Rice (nee Palmer). But his last season in the NFL was a rather dreadful one (he averaged only 3.1 yards per carry), another reason teams could point to in passing on inviting Rice to camp.

"We'll catch flak for [endorsing Rice]," Porter told ESPN. "A lot of people think we should kick him to the curb and his name should be mud forever. But how great would it be if everyone who made a mistake made it their mission to make sure a million people don't make the same mistake? To use the influence that he has, what a great way to correct that wrong. And that's what Ray has committed himself to doing. His intentions are real, his heart is pure, and we're going to help him to move forward so he can have a positive impact on the next generation of manhood."

In the video above, Rice’s merits for a second chance are debated. But we want to know what you think. In the comments below, let us know if you think Rice deserves a second chance.