‘TODAY’ EXCLUSIVE: RAY AND JANAY RICE SPEAK OUT TO NBC’S MATT LAUER
Janay Rice on Roger Goodell: “I can’t say he’s telling the truth.”
Interview to Air in Two Parts Monday and Tuesday, December 1 and 2 on NBC’s TODAY
NOTE: Excerpts and video clips must be used with proper credit, listed below.
NEW YORK – November 29, 2014 – – In an exclusive interview, former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his wife Janay tell their story for the first time to NBC’s Matt Lauer. The interview will air in two parts on NBC’s TODAY, Monday and Tuesday, December 1 and 2.
Janay Rice, who was in the June meeting with Ray Rice and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, told Lauer, “I know for a fact that… Ray told the honest truth.” About Goodell she said, “I can’t say he’s telling the truth.”
Joe and Candy Palmer, Janay’s parents, join for portions of the interview.
Brief excerpts from the interview follow. The excerpts and video clips may be used subject to the following restrictions:
a. Mandatory credit to NBC’s TODAY on first reference with air dates of Monday and Tuesday, December 1 and 2.
b. The onscreen “TODAY Exclusive” credit must be clearly visible and unobstructed at all times in any image, video clip, or other form of media.
c. Embedded web video must stream from the TODAY.com media player with the unobstructed credit as described above.
Video excerpts from the interview will appear tonight on Nightly News and tomorrow on TODAY, Meet the Press and Sunday Night Football.
Photos from the interview are attached. The interview will be available on TODAY.com after it airs.
###
JANAY RICE ON THE MEETING WITH ROGER GOODELL
LAUER: Was Ray ambiguous?
JANAY RICE: No. Not in any way. And, you know, I feel like if they wanted to know more details then they would have asked. But there were no further questions. It– it’s been consistent with everything that he’s been saying since February.
MATT LAUER: So when the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, says Ray was ambiguous and the NFL says that it was a starkly different sequence of events, is the commissioner lying?
JANAY RICE: I can’t say he’s telling the truth. You know? I know for a fact that he told– that Ray told the honest truth that he’s been telling from February. So–
MATT LAUER: And you think the league and the commissioner covered their butts?
JANAY RICE: I think they did what they had to do for themselves.
Link to embeddable video: http://www.today.com/news/ray-rices-wife-roger-goodell-i-cant-say-hes-telling-1D80325413
###
JANAY RICE ON THE AFTERMATH OF THE INCIDENT
MATT LAUER: We’ve only seen you months after the incident. And I can’t imagine that you were that calm when you started to realize exactly what happened in that elevator. Can you describe those emotions?
JANAY RICE: I was furious. We came home and we didn’t talk the entire ride. Well, I didn’t speak to him the entire ride home. He tried to talk to me. I didn’t want to hear any of it. I just knew he hit me, and I was completely over it. I was done… I just didn’t even want to entertain it – any explanation. Of course in the back of my mind and in my heart I knew that our relationship wouldn’t be over because I know that this isn’t us, and it’s not him.
Link to embeddable video: http://www.today.com/video/today/56516041
###
JANAY RICE ON ANOTHER TEAM TAKING A CHANCE ON RAY RICE
MATT LAUER: What’s it going to take in your mind, Janay, for another team to take a chance on Ray Rice?
JANAY RICE: For them to look past this situation, which I know is going to be hard. But at the end of the day he’s a football player and that’s what they should be– really be focused on, because he’s proven himself as a football player for seven years. There’s never been a question on what he can do on the field.
MATT LAUER: And you think an owner and fans of the team can get those images from that elevator tape out of their minds?
JANAY RICE: With time. We know it’s going to take some work. So I think once he, you know, shows them who he is and, they reach out to people here and they find out the things that he’s done, then I think it’s definitely good– you know, it could help.
###
NBC’s TODAY is the news program that informs, entertains, inspires and sets the agenda each morning for Americans. Airing live from 7 am to 11 am ET, TODAY reaches more than 5 million people every day through its broadcast, and millions more through TODAY.com, the TODAY app, and social media platforms. Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Tamron Hall, Carson Daly, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb are the anchors and hosts, and Don Nash is the executive producer.
For more information contact:
Megan Kopf Stackhouse
NBC News
e: megan.kopf@nbcuni.com
p: 212-664-6205
Members of the media can get more information about NBCUniversal and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com.
Follow us on Twitter @NBCNewsPR.
Photography and other information about NBC Universal programming is available at the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com. Members of the press can register to download photography and receive daily press release headlines by clicking on the button at the top right on the site homepage and following the prompts.
