(AllHipHop News) The video of then Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice hitting his fiancée (now wife) Janay Palmer in a hotel elevator shocked most of the country, and many wondered why the NFL pro-bowler struck the woman so hard she was knocked unconscious.
[ALSO READ: Baltimore Ravens Terminate Ray Rice After Assault Video Surfaces (VIDEO)]
Sources are telling TMZ, that Rice is now blaming being intoxicated for the incident. Reportedly, both Rice and Palmer were drinking heavily that night at the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.
The site also reports Rice has been telling friends he is a different person when he is under the influence and has since stopped drinking hard liquor. The couple has also apparently turned their lives over to Jesus Christ and were baptized a month after the altercation.
Rice issued a statement that included him saying the couple are “in good spirits” and there are “a lot of people praying” for them. Rice and Palmer are said to be undergoing religious mentoring with other couples.
[ALSO READ: Ray Rice Makes First Public Statement Since Assault Video Release]