Rally held in support of Ray Rice held at youth football program in New Rochelle

Dozens of Ray Rice fans held a rally Sunday afternoon at a youth football clinic in his hometown of New Rochelle. Supporters say they picked the program as the rally's location because Rice has been

News 12 Staff

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Sep 15, 2014, 1:35 AM

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Updated 3,750 days ago

Dozens of Ray Rice fans held a rally Sunday afternoon at a youth football clinic in his hometown of New Rochelle.

Supporters say they picked the program as the rally's location because Rice has been a big supporter of it over the years. Many came wearing Ray Rice jerseys and T-shirts bearing messages of support for Rice and his wife, Janay.

The president of the youth football program was one of the first people to publicly defend Rice. He says the former NFL running back played in the program for five years before high school.

The Baltimore Ravens released Rice after the NFL suspended him indefinitely in response to a video that surfaced of him punching his then-fiancee at an Atlantic City casino. The couple has since married.

Rice made his first appearance since being released by the Ravens at a football game Saturday at New Rochelle High School. He attended with his wife and daughter, but left without taking questions from the media.