Ray Rice Meant No Disrespect By Donning A "Terrible Towel"

The terrible towel has a tradition of being "degraded" by opposing players after wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers (just look at LenDale White and T.J. Houshmandzadeh's who both stomped and wiped their shoes with the towel). It seemed as if after Sunday's 13-10 win Ravens running back, Ray Rice, was the next player to carry on this tradition as he walked off Heinz Field with a Terrible Towel draped over his head as he headed into the locker room. This seemed to strike a nerve with Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley who took to twitter and wrote:

"Bad idea Ray, just ask Lendale White and TJ Whosyourmama." and "If you're not a Steelers fan, don't put your hands on a terrible towel."

On Wednesday, Rice came out to elaborate on the action that Steelers fans and players viewed as disrespectful and said:

"I didn’t stomp it or do anything wrong, I actually walked out with it and I think I’m going to save it and put it in my basement to cherish the rivalry. It’s not like you get out there and you do derogatory stuff, it’s none of that stuff. You think about it as where I’m at in my career, you cherish these rivalries, cherish the moments. I apologize for those who see it as disrespect. For me, I thought it was a pretty cool gesture exchanging my gloves with the fan and walking out with it." (Via BaltimoreRavens.com)

A classy response by Ray to elaborate on his actions, and it doesn't exactly seem far-fetched as Rice has a tradition of trading jerseys with players of opposing teams after a game. I, for one, have no problem with Rice's action as I find it refreshing to see a player who tries to live in every game and cherish the memories for years to come.

Also, I don't think Ravens fans have to worry about the "Curse of the Terrible Towel" coming back to hurt Ray RIce seeing as the towel never touched his foot like it did in the other two cases. So for all of you superstitious purple-bird lovers out there, you can let out a collective breath of nervousness.