ATLANTA — The Giants paid tribute to all of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting on Sunday. But for Victor Cruz, his tribute was personal.
The Giants’ star receiver wore the name “Jack Pinto” on his cleats and gloves during the Giants’ tough, 34-0 loss to Atlanta in honor of a six-year-old boy killed during the mass school shooting on Friday morning. Cruz called Jack’s family after learning he was a huge fan of Cruz and the Giants.
Jack was such a big fan of Cruz that his family is even considering burying him in Cruz’s No. 80 Giants jersey, Cruz said. “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 said. “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.”
The Giants also held a moment of silence for the victims at the team meeting on Saturday night. And there was no doubt the tragedy was on their mind.
“We were all saddened by the events that happened in Newton, Conn.,” Coughlin said. “And I felt terrible about it and I’m sure everyone in the nation did as well. And for it to happen so close to home, the players were very upset about it. When you have players that have young children, they could empathize with the parents of the young children that were killed.
“There was no one that could escape, and no way it couldn’t affect everyone.”
— with Tim Smith
