NFL free agent Ray Rice appeared on the "Today" show Tuesday morning, and expressed regret for not apologising to his wife, Janay, during their initial press conference.

Rice was caught on video in February knocking his then-fiancée unconscious by punching her in the face in an Atlantic City casino elevator. In the first press conference held by the Christian couple after the attack, Janay apologised, but Ray did not.

"We heard her apologise and at that press conference we didn't hear you apologise to her," host Matt Lauer said. "And that upset a lot of people. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I definitely understand that," Ray answered.

"The reason why that press conference was the way it was, was because we were still under legal situations. So there wasn't much that could be said, but I'll be honest, we were nervous, I was nervous, and that was the first time we were available to speak. And I made a horrendous mistake not apologising to my wife."

Janay told Lauer and ESPN that her husband's former team, the Baltimore Ravens, suggested that she should apologise on camera, and provided a general script for her to follow.

"I had already apologised to Ray, and I felt that I should take responsibility for what I did," she explained. "Even though this followed the Ravens' suggested script, I owned my words."

Ray told Lauer that he didn't deserve an apology.

"I made that clear in my last time I was able to speak that my wife is an angel," he said. "She can do no wrong. I take full responsibility for my actions."

The running back was cut from the Ravens and indefinitely suspended after video footage of the assault was made public, but the suspension was reversed on appeal. Charges against the 27-year-old were dropped after Janay declined to testify.