Paul George Comments on Ray Rice Punching Wife Video Were 'Thoughtless', Says Larry Bird

Paul George might have come to the rescue of the NFL's Ray Rice but, immediately after, he also needed a rescue.

Many were surprised with George's show of support for Rice via Twitter, including Indiana Pacers big wig, Larry Bird, Fox Sports reported.

Bird, the Pacers' president for basketball operations, called George's comments "thoughtless."

"Paul George's tweets from earlier were thoughtless and without regard to the subject of domestic violence and its seriousness in society," he said,  as quoted by CBS Sports.

TMZ on Monday released footage that showed Rice knocking his then-fiancee Janay unconscious inside an Atlantic City hotel elevator, the report said. The incident effectively shooed away the trust of the Baltimore Ravens, sponsors, his former high school that held him in high esteem, and the NFL. The league is also conducting an investigation, it added.

But just as many thought no one (but Janay) would come to his defense, here comes George, saying in several tweets that the victim, now wife, might have incited the athlete to give a powerful punch. He also said that Rice must stay strong.

One of his tweets said: "I don't condone hittin women or think it's coo BUT if SHE ain't trippin then I ain't trippin.. Lets keep it movin lol let that man play!" 

It did not take too long before the NBA player retracted his statements, TMZ reported. 

Less than an hour after posting, George took some of the statements down, taking a 180-degree turn and releasing an apology on the same platform: "Let me apologize to the women and to the VICTIMS of domestic violence people my intent was not to downplay the situation." (The Fox Sports article has screencaps of the tweets.)

George is still recovering from a left tibia injury during a Team USA scrimmage. According to the New York Daily News, the forward will be missing the next NBA season.

The New York Post noted, however, that George wasn't the only one who said the wrong things about the incident, citing Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, whose comments about domestic violence and women provoking attacks almost cost him his job on "First Take," as reported in another New York Post article.

In an official statement echoing his tweet, George said: "I want to apologize to all victims of domestic abuse for my insensitive tweets. They were obviously without proper understanding of the seriousness of the situation and I sincerely regret my poor choice of words," as quoted in the report.‎