Report: Ray Rice Gives Up Hard Liquor, Becomes Born Again Christian

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has blamed hard liquor for the incident in February during which he beat his wife in the elevator of an Atlantic City hotel.

Rice, who was dismissed from the Baltimore Ravens earlier this week, told TMZ that he and his wife had been drinking heavily on the night of the February incident, and since that event he has sworn off hard liquor. Rice also confirmed that he and his wife have become born-again Christians after being baptized in March and have been meeting with other couples in the church, as well as in the NFL, to receive counseling for their issues.

A video released by TMZ Monday shows Rice punching and knocking out wife Janay Palmer in an elevator in Atlantic City back in February. Since the video was released, Rice was dropped from the Ravens teams and indefinitely suspended from the NFL.

The NFL is receiving criticism for its handling of the situation, with an anonymous law enforcement official claiming the football league had received the video of Rice punching his wife about five months ago. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell continues to argue that neither he nor his organization had knowledge of the damning video before its public release this week.

A source close to the incident told ESPN this week that when Rice met with Goodell earlier this year, he reportedly told the commissioner he had hit his wife in the elevator.

"Ray didn't lie to the commissioner," the source told the sports media outlet. "He told the full truth to Goodell -- he made it clear he had hit her, and he told Goodell he was sorry and that it wouldn't happen again."

"He told the truth," a second source added. "This is a public lynching of Ray."