ESPN Reporter Asks Alleged Domestic Abuser Ray Rice About 'Wife's Words Of Encouragement'

ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio probably wishes he could take this question back.

At the conclusion of Thursday's preseason game pitting the Ravens against the 49ers, Paolantonio asked Ravens running back Ray Rice, "What did your wife say to you in final words of encouragement before you took the field?"

When posed to most players, the question wouldn't warrant much interest. For Rice, who will sit out the first two games of the season after he allegedly knocked unconscious his wife-to-be in a casino elevator in February, then dragged her limp body into the hall, it was enough to justify a spit-take.

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Rice responded to the question without batting an eye, offering up generic platitudes about taking care of his family:

She always wishes me luck. And she always just says, ‘Go out there and do your job.’ That’s one thing on the football field, is that, it is my job. But this is the way I get to take care of my family. Everything that we’ve been through, that’s just something you can’t take for granted. So it was a blessing to be out here, and to get off the field healthy, but at the same time it was a great day at work.

Awkwaaaaaard.

WATCH the interview in its entirety, above.

h/t Deadspin