Victor Cruz: Giants' boat trip photo 'will haunt me for the rest of my life'
Former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz is still haunted by the infamous boat trip he and his teammates took in 2017.
Cruz was photographed on a boat with Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, Roger Lewis, and others following the Giants' 19-10 win over the Washington Redskins in the regular-season finale.
"It was right after a game, we were just about to go into the playoffs, and although we had the day off, we went to Miami, we had a good time. It was New Year's Day, we came back the next day, we didn't break any rules," Cruz told E! News.
"This photo will haunt me for the rest of my life."
So OBJ, Sterling Shepard, Victor Cruz, and Roger Lewis flew to Miami last night, went clubbing, and are on a boat. Living life. #Giants pic.twitter.com/SE6QqfuYfT
— Justin Witmondt (@JustinWitmondt) January 2, 2017
Cruz said once the photo leaked online, it "amplified" the situation and led to reporters "asking a ton of questions about it." The Giants went on to lose 38-13 to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round of the playoffs a week later, but Cruz doesn't regret the trip.
"If this was 1999, no one would've known about the trip. We would've went, had a great time, come back," he said. "And then had we won the game - that's the part that kind of bothers me, too - if we won the game, oh, they'd be like, 'Go to Miami every week, apparently that's the good luck charm.' You know what I mean? But the fact that we lost, it left a bad taste in everybody's mouth."
Cruz was released by the Giants in February 2017 after seven seasons with the team. He retired from the NFL the following year.