Former Raven RB Ray Rice met with Georgia players prior to season’s start
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Following an offseason that featured eight Georgia arrests, first-year Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart felt the need to have former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, one of the most public NFL figures known for the wrong reason, address his team prior to the beginning of fall camp.
After the elevator surveillance tape of Rice punching his fiance Janay Palmer, now his wife, was publicly released after Week 1 of the 2014 NFL season, Rice was released by the Ravens and has not been signed by an NFL team since that time.
While speaking at a private donor event, Smart discussed his reasoning for having Rice address his players.
“We’re trying to use every education piece we can with our players, obviously,” Smart said, according to Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald. “He’s very good at speaking to a group from the experience of him talking to others. I’ve had others call and tell me he’s a really good resource. Not only the domestic violence bit but just being a player in general: college athlete, successful pro athlete who’s now looking to do things after that if he doesn’t make it on a team this year.”
Having a well-known, Super Bowl-winning NFL running back address the players could prove be a good choice by Smart. If there’s one player who knows the potential consequences of the wrong actions can have on legacy and future career, it’s Rice. Hopefully the opportunity of hearing it first-hand from the former Baltimore star will ensure no such events happen in Athens under Smart’s watch.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
