Victor Cruz Recalls Jay Z Giving Him Cold Shoulder Prior To Roc Nation Deal

Prior to signing with the Jay Z-led Roc Nation Sports last year, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz says he had a “legitimate, light-weight beef” with the Brooklyn rapper. Cruz shared the story of his beef, which he says stemmed from a minor mix-up, while speaking with Angie Martinez of Hot 97.

According to Cruz, following the Giants’ Super Bowl win against the New England Patriots in 2012, he says someone who was falsely representing him was contacted about his attendance at a 40/40 Club party celebrating the teams’ win. The person claiming to represent Cruz then stated that he would only attend the party if he received $30,000.

“Before I had a conversation with Jay about this sport thing, we had like legitimate, light-weight beef, man,” Cruz said. “It was kinda weird. He threw a party at 40/40 after we won the Super Bowl. I had no clue about it. I guess someone from the Roc camp reached out to somebody that I was or was not working with at the time…And clearly it wasn’t my people or who I thought was my people. And they called him or her, whoever it was, and was like ‘Yo, we’re trying to get Vic to this party.’ And they was like ‘Nah, Vic’s not showing up unless he gets 30K.’”

The former University of Massachusetts player then revealed that he was given the cold shoulder from Jay Z at a basketball game following the party, and was unsure of what warranted the silent treatment from the rapper.

“So, I had no idea…I saw Jay and [Shawn] Pecas at a game and I ended up bum-rushing this back room that they were all in at half-time and nobody said a word to me…I was like ‘Damn, no love.’ And I had no idea why,” he said.

Prior to sharing the details of his minor feud with Jay Z, Cruz spoke on what it’s like working with the rapper-turned-entrepreneur at Roc Nation Sports. He says that despite boasting a tight schedule, Jay is typically open to ideas from those signed to the agency.

“You can go to him and be like ‘Yo, these are my ideas.’ If you sit him down like ‘Yo, these are my ideas. This is what I wanna do,’ he’ll facilitate that,” Cruz said. “And then put it to the hands that be, the powers that be and it travels. But as far as him getting on the phone—he just doesn’t have time for that…He’s got other things to worry about. He’s rapping to millions of people on stage. It happens.”

In addition to Victor Cruz, other athletes signed to Roc Nation Sports include Geno Smith, Kevin Durant, and Skylar Diggins.

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