Jemele Hill of ESPN of the story on the incident — and the history behind it — that shocked fans and the league.
Earlier today, Ray Rice won his appeal against his indefinite suspension from the NFL and was immediately reinstated to the league.
Matthew Emmons/Usa Today Sports
In conjunction with the news of Rice's reinstatement, ESPN has released Janay Rice's full account of what happened between her and her husband that night.
Mike Segar / Reuters
After the club, our friends from Baltimore, Ray and I decided to go to the late-night restaurant in the casino. Ray and I were bickering. We were drunk and tired and while I know that some people may find it hard to believe, none of the six of us can remember exactly what Ray and I were arguing about. It was that insignificant.
As we were arguing, he was on his phone and not looking at me. I went to reach for his phone, and when he grabbed it back, he spit at me and I slapped him.
We got into the elevator and what happened inside is still foggy to me. The only thing I know -- and I can't even say I "remember" because I only know from what Ray has told me -- is that I slapped him again and then he hit me. I remember nothing else from inside the elevator.
The next thing I do recall is being in the casino lobby, surrounded by cops.
Via espn.go.com
Janay tells the story of how she and her future husband met as teenagers, eventually turning their friendship into a relationship while Ray Rice was at Rutgers. She mentions an often-ignored challenge for wives of NFL players, discussing how difficult it is to transition to a strange, new city and build an identity and life for herself. Rice says that "until this past year, that first one in Baltimore was the most difficult in our relationship. After their daughter Rayven was born, the couple entered premarital counseling as a precautionary measure to set themselves up for success.
Rice explains: "Even though counseling has a certain stigma among both men and women -- especially in the African-American community -- Ray and I wanted to work toward building better communication between us."
