Janay Rice defended husband former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and criticised the media for broadcasting a video of him knocking her out earlier this year and which has resulted in him being sacked.
A day after TMZ released a casino elevator video showing Rice punching his then-fiancee in the face and knocking her unconscious last February, Janay Rice said the extreme public attention was adding to her misery.
"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend," she wrote on Instagram.
"But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted (opinions) from the public has caused my family."
The video prompted the Ravens to fire Rice, who was to have made US$10 million (A$10.8 million) over the next three years, and the National Football League, which had previously only suspended him for two games over the matter, to banish Rice indefinitely and require any team wishing to hire him to obtain approval from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
