Four-time All-Pro defensive end and three-time Pro Bowler Simeon Rice appeared on the Adam Carolla Show on Tuesday to promote his movie Unsullied — which he both wrote and directed. For those of you who are unaware, after retiring in 2009, the former Cardinal, Buccaneer, Bronco and Colt attended the New York Film Academy in order to pursue a career in film making.
During his guest spot on Carolla’s show — a forum known for getting guests to open up about their personal lives — Rice participated in a discussion about Bill Cosby and the plethora of sexual assault allegations swirling in the media. A spirited discussion about the accusations against Cosby eventually detoured to Rice’s own upbringing, where the Super Bowl champion admitted — for the first time publicly — to abuse he suffered as a child:
I was sexually abused when I was a little kid. This is the first time I’ve ever mentioned that. When I was a little, little kid, alright. I felt awful about it when I was 16, a teenager and all that, alright…I was probably like, 3, 4 years old, and I remembered it. It was graphic. It was somebody in my family — a woman in my family…
…Throughout my whole life, when I was a child, it bothered me. You know what I mean, to be around this person…
…She winded up living on the streets, and she became this street woman, and the first time I actually seen her is at my aunt’s funeral, okay. She came up, and she wanted to, like (hug me)…I still was like “back up”. I remember that…
…The only person I wanted to tell was my mom. Like…after I had graduated, when I finish school, and I’m on draft day…after the draft, I was like, “I’m gonna to tell my mother”. But I never had the need to tell the world. I just told my mom, ’cause she used to watch me. My mom was emotional. She was crying and everything. I’m like, “Mom, I’m good now. I’m good. I’ve moved on in my life.”
It should be noted that, earlier in the discussion, Rice hinted that something had happened to him as a child. Carolla, after a decade of listening to stories such as Rice’s on Loveline and sensing a traumatic past, attempted to get Rice to share his experience. Carolla dropped the subject, but after a few minutes, Rice told his story on his own terms.
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