After months of silence, Jason Pierre-Paul has finally explained the July 4th incident in which he lost a finger and part of his thumb in a fireworks accident.
The accident kept Pierre-Paul from making his season debut until Week 9 when the New York Giants took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He ended up playing in and starting eight games, totaling 21 tackles, one sack, six pass deflections, and two fumble recoveries. The Giants went just 2-6 with him on the field.
In a video from Sports Illustrated, Pierre-Paul shows the scene where it happened and explains the details about the party. He says it was his sister’s birthday and how he lights fireworks every year for kids.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/719585532989181954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He describes tables set up with people watching the fireworks, which were kept in a U-Haul truck. Pierre-Paul says he was ready to go home, but decided to kept going.
“I was facing this, I remember I was facing this way,” he said. “Cause the truck was right here, I was facing this way, and I lit it. It was right here, and as soon as I lit it all I hear is BOOM!” The video then cuts to a gray screen with Pierre-Paul saying, “People want to know the story. I’m putting it out there so people understand the story. Let’s move on.”
The full story from SI’s Jason Buckland and the video will be posted on SI.com Tuesday, and will also appear in the April 18 issue of Sports Illustrated.
[SI]
