Ray Rice has pledged to donate his entire salary to domestic abuse charities if he get signed to an NFL team.
The former Baltimore Ravens player spoke to USA Today and told the publication that his entire 2016 salary would go to programs focusing on domestic violence prevention, support for survivors and their families, and education if he gets a chance to return to the NFL.
If you remember, Rice was cut from the Ravens after a video surfaced of him knocking out his fiancée. Rice said that the scrutiny he received following the scandal was justified. “All the scrutiny that I’ve got, it was deserved, because domestic violence is a horrible thing,” he said, “Me donating my salary is something that’ll be from the heart for me. I only want to play football so I can end it the right way for my kids and for the people that really believed in me. But I know there’s a lot of people affected by domestic violence, and every dollar helps. It’s raising awareness.”
Since being cut, Rice has made visits to various colleges and high schools to talk about domestic violence and how it affects victims. “I think the biggest donation that you can give to domestic violence is your time. I’m not just going to be giving it because I have money. I’m going to be giving it because I did the background and the research and spent a lot of time with people who understand the cause,” he said, “The only way to fix the problem is awareness. It’s an epidemic. I know that my situation raised awareness. I’m not thankful for being that guy, but I’m thankful for the people that now are not afraid to ask for help, because I had to go get the help myself after to realize the severity of what domestic violence is.”
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