Minnesota GOP Lt. Gov. nominee: Ray Rice is a ‘great guy’

This article contains references to domestic violence. If you or a loved one is being abused, help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-779-7233 or by visiting thehotline.org.

During an interview on “The Lacy Johnson Podcast”, Minnesota GOP lieutenant governor candidate Matt Birk included Ray Rice in a group of his former teammates he called “just an amazing bunch of guys.”

When asked what it was like to win a Super Bowl, Birk responded that he was lucky to play with a great group of guys.

“It’s a special thing to be a part of because, you know, rarely do you as an individual or any team or a group that you’re associated with get to accomplish something like that. Right?” Birk said. “There’s just not a lot of days life that in life. It was a special group of guys — you know, John Harbaugh, the head coach, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Joe Flacco, Ray Rice — just an amazing bunch of guys.”

Birk and Rice were teammates for four seasons when both men played for the Baltimore Ravens in the early 2010s. Rice’s NFL career effectively ended when a video of him beating his then-fiancé unconscious in an elevator and then dragging her body surfaced via TMZ in 2014.

This also was not the first time Birk spoke highly of Rice following the gruesome incident. In an interview in 2015, Birk defended Rice’s actions.

“People ask me, ‘Is Ray Rice a good guy?’ I say, ‘No, Ray Rice is a great guy.’ Ray Rice made a bad decision, one that you can’t defend of excuse. I don’t want to be judged by the worst five seconds of my life either … I think a lot of people want to blame football for it. It’s not the case.”

Birk has a history of unpleasant comments involving women. While speaking at the National Pro-Life Summit in 2020, Birk proudly expressed his anti-abortion views and criticized women who seek out the procedure. In the speech, he said that culture promotes abortion by “telling women they should have careers” and that people “always want to play the rape card” when defending abortion.

On the day Roe was overturned, GOP candidate for MN Lt. Gov. Matt Birk spoke at an anti-abortion convention where he said culture promotes abortion by “tell[ing] women they should have careers,” and people “always want to play the rape card.” He also compared abortion to slavery. pic.twitter.com/3uvN7ua4Lt

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) July 19, 2022

After the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2013, Birk refused to visit the White House with the team because of then-President Barack Obama’s support for Planned Parenthood.

During the Minnesota State Fair in August, Birk and his running mate Scott Jensen were openly criticized by conservative podcast host Joe Soucheray for their controversial views on abortion and COVID-19 policies.

BOOM: On today’s @GLpodcast, @JoeSoucheray gave @drscottjensen and @BirkMatt the best political advice for their campaign. Will Jensen and Birk listen? #mngov @RookieGL @MSP_Traffic pic.twitter.com/wchcj5hD0B

— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) September 1, 2022

Birk and Jensen will be on the ballot in November, where they will take on incumbent Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Tim Walz and his running mate, Peggy Flanagan.