Ray Rice had thought about these words for a long time.
His wife, Janay, was beside him. His mother, father-in-law, baby daughter Rayven and teammate Torrey Smith were in attendance.
In an emotionally-charged press conference, Rice spoke about the incident that occurred on Jan. 15 in an Atlantic City casino, leading to third-degree aggravated assault charges. And he started with an apology.
"I want to first off apologize to Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome and Coach Harbaugh. I also want to apologize to my fans, to the kids, to everyone that is affected by this situation that me and my wife are in," Rice said.
Rice was seen in a TMZ video dragging his seemingly unconscious then fiancée out of the elevator. The video did not show what exactly happened in the elevator. Rice did not go into detail about what happened that night.
"One thing that I can say is that sometimes in life you will fail," Rice said. "Me and Janay wish we could take back 30 seconds of our life."
Rice will not stand trial after his request for pretrial intervention was accepted. If Rice completes the program, which is for a minimum of one year, the court will dismiss the chargers and there will be no conviction.
He could still face suspension from the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, however. The league policy states that players are held to a higher standard, and players have been suspended without convictions before.
"I really treat my job as a very special job, and I failed miserably," Rice said. "But I wouldn't call myself a failure because I'm working my way back up."
Rice and Janay went into counseling after that night. They got married in a private ceremony on March 28.
"Throughout this time, we really had time to reflect on each other," Rice said. "One thing is that we were blessed to work it out together. Everybody knows no relationship is perfect. But me and Janay, together, what counseling has done for us, we want the world to see that it definitely did help us out."
One thing that I do know is that I am working every day to be a better father, a better husband and just a better role model. ... The best thing I have to do is be a role model for her, throughout everything. My wife is here, and I just want to thank her for loving me when I was weak and building up where I was strong throughout this whole situation."
Rice grew emotional when speaking directly to his mother, Janet, and father-in-law, Joe Palmer. He thanked them both for supporting him during a difficult time.
"Mom, thank you. Mr. Palmer, my father I never had, thank you for teaching me what it is to be a man," Rice said.
"I know it wasn't easy when you saw that thing that happened. I just remember your words, 'You'll get through it.' Those words will always stick with me deeper than anything that I can imagine. One thing you gave me was trust."
Rice wasn't alone in that elevator, and Janay also spoke to the media about the incident. She was originally charged with simple assault, but the charges were dropped.
"I do deeply regret the role that I played in the incident that night," she said.
"But I can say that I am happy that we continue to work through it together and we are continuing to strengthen our relationship and our marriage, and do what we have to do for not only ourselves collectively, but us individually and working to be better parents for Rayven, and continue to be good role models for the community like we were doing before this.
"I love Ray and I know he will continue to prove himself to not only you all, but the community. I know he will regain your respect back in due time."
Rice has been a very active participant in the community since arriving in Baltimore in 2008. He's known for his work with children, charity and anti-bullying efforts. He thanks those in the community who have reached out in support.
"There were a lot of tears shed, but me and Janay can truly say that we're in a better place. Hopefully I'll one day gain back everyone's trust to let you know we're still the same people and I'm still the same person."
