Wife of Ray Rice calls husband’s NFL suspension ‘horrible nightmare’

The wife of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice posted an emotional statement on her Instagram account Tuesday morning, a day after her husband was released by the team and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

On Monday, TMZ Sports released surveillance video of Ray Rice knocking his then-fiance, Janay Palmer, unconscious in the elevator of an Atlantic City, N.J., casino. The two have since married, and Palmer has taken Rice’s name. Although Ray Rice already had been issued a two-game suspension by the league for the incident, the Ravens cut ties with him and the league ramped up the suspension after the graphic video was released.

The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday it has verified the following unabridged message from the official Instagram account of Janay Rice, and that the statement was intended to be released publicly:

“I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend,” Janay Rice wrote. “But to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that [the] media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his [butt] of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific.

“THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!”