Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's legal problems aren't going away anytime soon.
Rice was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on one count of third-degree aggravated assault for allegedly assaulting his fiancée, Janay Palmer, at an Atlantic City casino in February.
Aggravated assault is a third-degree felony carrying a potential penalty of three to five years in prison.
Rice's attorney, Michael Diamondstein, spoke to NFL Media regarding the matter.
"We deny Ray Rice committed aggravated assault," Diamondstein said Thursday. "Neither Ray nor Janay Palmer wish to prosecute the matter. Ray and Janay are together. They're happy, and they're in counseling.
"We believe that as a matter of law that Ray Rice did not commit aggravated assault. We ask only that the public reserve judgment until all the facts come to light."
The team also released a brief statement on the running back's situation: "This is part of the due process for Ray. We know there is more to Ray Rice than this one incident."
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti told reporters earlier this week that Rice will "definitely be back" with the Ravens for the 2014 season. Bisciotti's support echoes that of general manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh.
At Wednesday's conclusion of the NFL Annual Meeting, Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed if Rice would be suspended.
"I don't have any timetable," Goodell said. "The federal authorities are working on it, so I don't have any inside knowledge of that from anyone. But there's no reason to take any action as of now ... We'll see how things unfold."
Whether or not the league levies a suspension on Rice is uncertain pending the outcome of the case, but he will continue to have the support of his team in the meantime.
