Victor Cruz And Giants Pay Tribute To Sandy Hook Newtown, Connecticut Victims
The New York Giants paid tribute to all of the victims from Friday's mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., at their game on Dec. 16.
The team played with the initials "S.H.E.S." - for Sandy Hook Elementary School - hand-written on the back of their helmets. But for one of their star players, Victor Cruz, the tribute was extra personal.
After Cruz learned that one of the youngest victims was his biggest fan, the star receiver honored Ryan Pinto by writing "Jack Pinto, My Hero" on one of his cleats and "R.I.P. Jack Pinto" on the other. On the back of his gloves, he wrote "Jack Pinto This one is 4 U.!" Cruz posted pictures of the tributes on Instagram and tweeted the links to his followers.
"Today's game is for you Jack," Cruz tweeted, but not before sharing his sentiments to the "entire Pinto family." "My sincerest condolences to the Entire Pinto family. My prayers are with you during this time extremely difficult time."
After Sunday's game loss in Atlanta, Cruz told the media that he planned to give the cleats and gloves to the Pinto family as a gift. He added that, if his schedule permits, he plans to pay them a visit this week "to spend some time with them and talk to them a little bit and get to know them a little bit more," according to The New York Times, "Even if it's just for an hour."
"It felt good to honor a family that was going through so much," Cruz told ESPN. "Messages can go out to these athletes, and some athletes just brush them off. So it felt good to be one of these athletes that really listened to that family, and really did something to pay tribute to them."
Cruz admitted it was "humbling" to learn that Jack, 6, was such a huge fan of his that the boy's family intended to bury him in his football jersey with Cruz' team number on it.
"It was very humbling to hear how big of a fan he was and how they were thinking about putting my jersey on him for the services," Cruz told New York Daily News. "It was an emotional time. It really shows you what type of effect that athletes have on kids. Not just seeing you on TV. They want to be you. They idolize you. They wear your jersey everywhere. It really showed me how real it is to be a role model. It was definitely humbling for sure."
After Cruz learned on Twitter that one of Sandy Hook's youngest victims was a fan of his, he asked his fiancée/publicist to contact the family and she was able to track them down in 20 minutes. Cruz spoke to the victim's family in an emotional phone call.
"I was in the hotel (in Atlanta) and as I was talking to them I was fighting back tears. You could hear everybody in the background crying as well. It was tough to listen to," Cruz said.
Cruz admits it was especially tough speaking to Jack's older brother who very distraught.
"He could barely speak to me," he said of the 11-year-old. "I was just talking to him, telling him to stay strong, to stay positive and I'm going to help the family any way I can. When a family is facing that much tragedy. You want to be someone that inspires them and can put a smile on their face in a time where it's tough to do that."
