Voice of the Fan: Baltimore Ravens

— -- After days of media scrutiny following the public release of the February 2014 elevator security video showing Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée, the Baltimore Ravens returned to the football field on Thursday night. And their fans came out to support them at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. From the tailgate outside M&T Stadium, espnW asked some of the Ravens' most dedicated fans how they're feeling this week in light of all they've seen and heard.

Wanda Joyner

"It's been heartbreaking. I'm a woman; I've never been a victim of domestic violence. But I've had family members that have been. So I don't condone it at all. But I'm a Christian, so I know the concept of forgiveness. I can forgive the man, but not the act. Love the player, hate the sin. At the end of the day, you have to be punished for your sins, but was this punishment the result of the act or from public outcry? I wore his jersey tonight to say I support the man and shun the sin. I think the video is horrible. However, I think everyone knew about it. You can't be a billion-dollar team and not know about a tape in the elevator. They knew and I feel like some other people will be punished as a result. I think Roger Goodell should be looking over his shoulder. And quite a few others. I pray for Baltimore, and I pray for Ray Rice and his family. They both need counseling and help. I don't condone it at all, but it's a sad day. My family said to me 'You really wearing that jersey?' I said as a woman I don't support domestic violence, but as a Christian I support forgiveness."

Melanie Brzozowski (center), with her son Tommy and family friend Trinity Bair

"I'm disgusted by what happened, and disgusted by his actions. At the same time, I'm also heartbroken that this happened to someone who has been great for our city. He was a pioneer about anti-bullying stuff and really someone kids looked up to. It's sad how the NFL handled it, and how they tried to fix it. It's unfortunate they weren't up front about everything. I'm a huge Ravens fan and going into tonight, I almost couldn't put my jersey on. It's still so raw. Betrayal is a good way to describe it. We knew he hit her and knocked her out. But when you see it, it makes it so much more real. You're able to humanize it more. I did talk to my son about it. I told him right away how wrong it was. I didn't show him the video. But I told him that people make mistakes and try not to judge them, because you don't know the whole story."

Renee Johnson

"I'm still loving being a Ravens fan. I'm sad about Ray Rice, obviously. I hope he and his wife can work it out. He's young and a lot of people who are very insecure tend to take care of their problems by violence. He does need help. That's the bottom line. Do I think we've learned anything from this? No. Because this has existed since the beginning of time. Everyone looks at him like a little brother, a little teddy bear. He did a lot of things for the community. So this was a big letdown to find out it happened like this. Until you actually see it, people can interpret however they want. Maybe she was drunk, maybe he just slapped her, pushed her. But when you see her laid out on the floor, it was unmistakably telling and disappointing to say the least."

Beth Valle

"Here's the thing. You're a Ravens fan, you're not a player fan. Ray was a part of the whole team, but he's still an individual player. It's OK to still be a Ravens fan. Your loyalty doesn't change. The pride doesn't change. You're disappointed, certainly. But you're still excited and you're still moving forward with the team. I think the Ravens handled it pretty well. I don't think the NFL handled it well. The Ravens terminated his contract within hours of the real video coming out. How do I feel about Ray? I feel like if I say one thing, I'll be criticized, and if I say another I'll be criticized. Everybody makes mistakes. He's done a lot of good things. I have his jersey. Would I have worn it if he was playing? Probably not. That doesn't mean that I hate the guy. I believe that he's a good person, so I still wish the best for him."

Michelle and Mike Mulcare

Michelle: "It's been disappointing. I feel like there was a lot that wasn't disclosed earlier that some people probably knew about. I feel like he was wrong, he should be punished, but I think it's a little extreme. I think it's a little ridiculous that they've destroyed his life. It's almost like they're trying to wipe him off the walls. How is he supposed to recover from that? There has been so many other guys doing stuff, and he seems to be the one they're going to make an example out of. He told them the truth, but seeing the video is what crushed him, I guess.

I think the Ravens put John Harbaugh in a difficult spot. It's a little too late to be apologizing at this point. I wish they would have initially taken all the money from his suspension and given to the House of Ruth. I don't agree with what he did. I think it's horrible. But I don't think he should be destroyed over it. And I think they've destroyed him over it."

Mike: "We have two daughters, a 23-year-old and 26-year-old. And if any boys ever smacked them around, I'd be the first person to pay the boys a visit. Them young men are going to know this 50-year-old man is coming knocking, that's for sure."

Donna Harris (right), with Jean Batchelor

"I feel like it was double jeopardy, frankly. If the courts made a decision, the Ravens and the NFL shouldn't come back and second guess themselves. Don't destroy his whole livelihood. I don't condone abuse. I don't condone it at all. At the same time, you have millions of men out here doing the same thing and they're still working. You took everything from him. Now it's going to get to the point where he has to raise his daughter. How can he do that if you take his livelihood away from him? It shouldn't have been a two-game suspension. It should have been six or eight games. But you decided it was two games, and a court of law made their decision too. He made one infraction. I'm a woman and I've been through this before. But I would never want a man to lose his complete livelihood so he can't take care of his family. He's doing everything he should have done, everything the judge told him to do, and to just pull the rug out from under him is unthinkable to me. It's really sad."

Kim Rose

It's hard to be a Ravens fan right now, even though I love them. I knew it happened, but when I saw the video I was taken aback. When you see it, it's so vivid. You see her head bouncing off the side of the elevator. You just think 'This is not OK. Not at all.' I would never stray from my team, but Ray Rice was my favorite player. It hurt me. You just don't do that to a woman. I'm not a feminist or anything like that, but you just don't do that to someone that you love. You're a man, if she's coming at you, you back up. Relax. Calm things down. It was really hard to watch. It was a little too much for me. I felt like the Ravens took it a little bit too lightly. Josh Gordon gets a year suspension for testing positive for marijuana but you punch your fiancée in the face and you get two games? It's just sad, the whole thing."

Kaleigh Brammer (left), and Shannon Fielder

Brammer: "It's been a little painful. Stressful. Heartbreaking. They've been through so much as a family, I wish people would just let them deal with it. It's between them. She's obviously already forgiven him. It just needs to stop. I watched the video, and it was scary. I don't think the Ravens, at the start, handled this very well. And I think they've admitted that. They dropped the ball. But as soon as the video came out, I think they did the best they could. They didn't really have much of a choice."

Fielder: "I can't say I still love him as a person, but I don't necessarily believe his livelihood should be taken away through the NFL, but that's their call. At least now there is going to be an investigation by the former FBI director. I don't know. It's nice to think about the Steelers, finally. We need to win this game."