Giants Shooting: Victor Cruz Learns Valuable Lesson About Nightclub Dangers

New York Giants breakout star Victor Cruz was hanging out with some teammates at the Juliet Supper Club in Manhattan early on Tuesday morning when gunfire erupted. Nobody involved with the team was injured, but they all learned a valuable lesson about late-night trips to a nightclub.

Cruz talked with The Bergen Record about the scary incident.

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“I don’t remember how many [gunshots I heard] to be honest with you. There were enough,” he said Tuesday night after signing autographs at a sports memorabilia shop.

“There was a melee that was going on,” Cruz said. “So we kind of just waited. We sat under the table and waited for the melee to calm down before we left. Then we got out of there as soon as we could. We didn’t know if we were going to get caught in a stampede.”

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While Cruz did nothing wrong and shouldn't face any disciplinary action from the overaggressive NFL, he will hopefully remember this kerfuffle in the future. As coaches continually tell their players, rarely do good things happen after midnight when you're out on the town.

Plaxico Burress was probably the first name that came to everybody's mind upon hearing about Cruz's close call. Three years ago, Burress infamously shot himself in the leg at a club and ended up serving time in prison.

Cruz was nothing more than an innocent bystander, though.

The undrafted University of Massachusetts product missed most of his rookie season with a hamstring injury but has enjoyed a surprising amount of success this season. Cruz has caught 40 passes for nearly 700 yards and four touchdowns. He ranks fourth in yards per catch among receivers with at least 40 grabs.

His emergence has allowed Eli Manning to take his game to another level. With three legitimate targets in Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Cruz, the Giants are now built to survive high-scoring games. That will be key come playoff time, should New York qualify.

All told, the incident should help Cruz in the long run. He doesn't have to become a shut-in or avoid having a good time altogether, he just needs to make sure to pick his spots and timing more carefully. The same goes for every other in-season athlete at the party.

If Cruz continues to produce and stays out of future off-field headlines, this incident will be nothing more than a minor blip on the radar.