Raymell Mourice “Ray” Rice has consistently demonstrated his superior football mind and football confidence on the field, by ranking as the Baltimore Ravens’ second all-time leading rusher behind Jamal Lewis (7,801) with 5,940 yards, and is also second in rushing attempts (1,273) and rushing touchdowns (37), and third in combined touchdowns (43).

On February 15, 2014, Rice and his then fiancée, Janay Palmer (now his wife), were arrested and charged with assault after a physical altercation in an elevator at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

As video footage emerged of Rice literally knocking out Janay, the media took little time in taking the path to labelling his action as obviously being inappropriate and calling the incident “domestic violence”.

With little, to no, information regarding the build-up that lead to the unfortunate event (knocking anyone out, or attacking someone in that manner, is unacceptable, be it a man or a woman regardless of the scenario or circumstances) and having jumped to conclusions and manipulating the events to fit the media’s needs to shock is somewhat simple and callous.

How can anyone be surprised by a man who has been trained throughout his whole life to react to any form of a perceived attack by dishing out physical punishment himself? Had his physical response to a perceived attack been on the field and against male opposition, Rice may have received a standing ovation by the fans (followed by an appropriate suspension from the NFL) for perhaps “standing his ground”.

The fact remains that Rice was not on a football field facing opposition, he was in an elevator with his then fiancée. Had he drawn upon his resource of mental toughness and evaluated the situation he would have realized that his chosen response was inappropriate.

Any athlete that is truly in tune with their football mental game, who is aware of their own mental toughness could have transferred their football mind from the field into their everyday life and made a better and healthier decision.

If Rice truly felt that he had to defend himself he could have drawn from a healthy mind set and simple restrained Janay instead of knocking her out.

Having a strong football mind can help in making good decisions and using good judgment as an athlete and as a man.