As former NFL player Ray Rice continues to make headlines for his highly publicized domestic violence case, many Ravens are tossing their Rice jerseys. One Baltimore-area dad had a different solution.
Bryan Bartlett of Ellicott City, Maryland gave his young son and daughter Ray Rice jerseys for Christmas two years ago, TODAY Parents reports. But after the public learned that Rice assaulted his wife, the dad knew his children could no longer wear the jerseys ... at least, not without a few alterations.
Behold, the awesome results that come from gluing a few extra letters to a shirt:
After Bartlett’s wife Angie shared a photo of their 6-year-old daughter Brynn in her newly transformed jersey on Facebook, the dad's DIY creation went viral.
While many Ravens fans have thrown out or burned their Ray Rice gear, Bartlett told The Baltimore Sun that he "tried to come up with something a bit more positive.”
In addition to changing the jersey, the Bartletts used the news as an opportunity to talk to Brynn and their 9-year-old son Bryson about violence. “It is a tough conversation to have with your children," he told The Baltimore Sun. "We explained why you should never been mean to anyone and certainly never hit or hurt anyone. Explained to them that while if they do it now they may end up in timeout or lose a privilege when they are older the consequences are much more severe and you could lose everything. They agreed that you should never hit anyone, ‘especially a girl’ my son said, and that Ray Rice should not be a Raven anymore.”
Speaking with TODAY Parents, the dad also pointed out that the Ray Rice case not only allows for lessons about aggression but also address what it means to be a victim of violence. “I was just hopefully teaching my daughter that we expect that guys always are nice to you and treat you with respect and that you don’t put up with anybody being mean or hitting you or anything like that ever. It’s just never acceptable."
Thank you, dad.
(hat tip: TODAY Parents)
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