14 Jul 2013 Pro Footballer’s Violent Post-Zimmerman Verdict Tweet
In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict on Saturday night, Victor Cruz of the New York Giants professional football team posted (and then quickly deleted) a comment on Twitter that could only make a tense situation turn violent.
Cruz tweeted:
Thoroughly confused. Zimmerman doesn’t last a year before the hood catches up with him.
At a time when pastors and law enforcement were pleading for peace in the wake of a contentious verdict, Victor Cruz — a role model due to the nature of his profession — seemed to align himself with the unruly mobs on Twitter suggesting that violence was a suitable answer to a decision they opposed.
Cruz plays in the National Football League. It’s the same NFL that cautioned all 32 of its teams against any of their players saying negative things about professional basketball player Jason Collins announcing his homosexuality last April.
Considering this precedent, it would only seem logical to believe that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s first order of business on Monday morning should be to call Giants president and CEO John Mara and see what the team plans to do about disciplining Cruz and what the league will do as well.
In the meantime, Project 21 member Huey Newsome has his own thoughts on the Cruz scandal:
It is unfortunate that Victor Cruz feels the way he does.
His mentality reflects a resortment to violence in lieu of the elevated conversations our community needs to have to ensure the problems facing ALL African-American males are eventually addressed.
If society truly does see the African-American male as a threat, as so many on the political left are charging, and that led to the supposedly racist actions of Geoge Zimmerman that fateful night, it’s regrettable that Cruz — who is half African-American — had an immediate reaction that alludes to violence.
Such behavior only strengthens this subconscious fear that society supposedly has — especially since Cruz has such an influential role in our society as a professional football player.
David W. Almasi 
Project 21 member Kevin Martin had this additional comment about Victor Cruz and his volatile tweet:
While the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial has Americans on both sides expressing emotions that run the gamut, people such as New York Giants player Victor Cruz must remember they are public figures. They have a loyal base of fans who hang on their every word.
Cruz needs to remember that people are highly influenced by what figures such as him say and do. Strained emotions could lead to more incidents similar to the violent encounter Zimmerman had with Trayvon Martin. Cruz’s words could easily be the factor that causes someone to seek vigilante justice.
I am a strong supporter of free speech and personal expression, but Cruz needs to realize that the NFL is going thru a bit of an image problem right now. His comment on Twitter does not help that image.