Victor Cruz has a simple piece of advice for his new superstar teammate, Odell Beckham: Watch your mouth.
"I just told him to make sure he watches his words and make sure he's mindful of the things that he says," Cruz said Wednesday on Sirius XM, via The New York Daily News. "Because anything that he says can become a headline. He just has to be very very careful of that, even when he means well or says the right things."
So far, Beckham has been doing a decent job of staying away from the New York media's game of verbal tag. He suggested that he played most of the season with two torn muscles in his hamstrings, which was shot down by general manager Jerry Reese. He also went on a strange, stream-of-consciousness Twitter rant more recently.
But the grand shame of it all, as we've said a million times, is that Cruz had to have this conversation at all. Unfortunately, he knows how ridiculous perception can be. He's been criticized for a touchdown dance that honored his heritage and late grandmother. He was buried for staying silent during contract negotiations.
And now Beckham is being forced to fall into the same twisted regiment: Interesting when people want him to be, humble every other minute of the day.
There really is no one better to be helping him than Cruz, though, who saw the same rapid rise as Beckham and knows the pitfalls of stardom in New York.
Beckham should listen, or better yet, he should do what he wants. You're only young, athletic and famous once.
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