Carroll: Rice incident changed him
— -- RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the Ray Rice incident has changed him forever and will impact how he evaluates players in the future.
"It will never be the same," Carroll said. "I have to admit, my awareness is different than it was and will never be the same. Hopefully, we can head off any issue that could come up in the future."
Carroll said he spoke to the team Wednesday morning about the Rice issue and the problem with domestic violence.
"I talked to the team about the serious nature of it," Carroll said. "It's an extremely serious situation. We made them aware that we will help them in any way if they have concerns about it. We will try to elevate their awareness. I think it's another example of an enormous situation that people learn from and grow so much from.
"Hopefully, the process and visibility will bring an awareness throughout our society. We need to take care of one another better and we need to respond accordingly."
Prior to The Associated Press reporting Wednesday that a video of the Rice incident was sent to the NFL, Carroll said he supported league commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended Rice indefinitely.
"It took time to get it right, but the commissioner and all his backers got it right," Carroll said. "Unfortunately, it took more time, but we understand why. It's tough everyone is on him about it, but it seems he used the information well once he got it
"We'll all think differently now. For all the people involved, our hearts go out to them and depth of their pain."
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