As disgraced running back Ray Rice seeks another shot to play in the NFL, he is attempting to put his domestic violence incident behind him and convince everyone else he is not a “monster.”

“I realize that’s a battle I’m going to have to face for the rest of my life,” Rice told the Baltimore Sun in a story published Saturday. “Time does heal everything, but I don’t think people are going to forget this. I want people to not forget about the incident, but I want people to see there’s a human being on the other side. This is not a monster, a guy who’s a repeat offender. I’m not the guy they stereotype me to be. I’m (also) not excusing what I did.”

Rice was charged last year with felony aggravated assault after he knocked out his fiancée (now wife), Janay, with a punch in an elevator at an Atlantic City casino. In a standard plea deal for such cases, Rice avoided jail time through a pretrial intervention program.

Rice said the hate he felt from the public sent him into a nearly suicidal state of mind.

“You almost want to punish yourself,” he said. “I know I’m never going to win the battle of public opinion. Honestly, I almost felt like at one point that it wasn’t worth living. I see why people commit suicide. It hurt that bad. I was low, real low. It hurt that bad because you worked your whole life to do all the right things and then you’re the world’s most hated person.”

Rice, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens in the wake of the assault, said he is intent on returning to the league to finish on his terms.

“I don’t want my career to be defined by this one moment,” he said. “I’ve been smart with money and the NFL is a great-paying game, but I really want to get back out there for my pride and to be able to leave the game with dignity. I don’t ever want to feel exiled out, because I wasn’t that guy. … I know I’m not ready to call it quits yet.”

Asked how he would try to convince NFL teams to trust him, he said, “I would own my mistake. I would let them know all the steps I’ve done to become a better person. I would just reassure them that the person that created this, that committed that horrible act of violence, that’s not the person, that’s not who I am.”

It remains to be seen whether another team gives Rice a chance — not only because he could be a PR nightmare but because there is a question of whether he can still be an effective running back at age 28.

After four straight 1,000-yard seasons with the Ravens, Rice rushed for just 660 yards in 2013, averaging 3.1 per carry. He said he played most of that season with a torn quadriceps.

“I was basically playing with one leg,” he said. “… I played through an injury I probably should have sat through.

“I’m optimistic that I’ll get a second chance,” he added. “I don’t think this boils down to whether I can play football or not. Obviously I know that. I just think there’s so much more that comes with it. I know the PR side of it will be tough. I understand that.”