President Obama has condemned Ray Rice in the aftermath of his firing by the Baltimore Ravens after video of him striking then fiancée Janay Palmer unconscious in an Atlantic City elevator in February emerged on Monday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest released a strongly worded statement after consulting with the president, having earlier responded to the shocking footage in more general terms. ‘The President is the father of wo daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society. ‘Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that’s true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors.