Father of NFL’s Caleb Farley killed in N.C. home explosion

Associated Press

MOORSEVILLE, N.C. — The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley died overnight in an explosion that destroyed the NFL player’s North Carolina home and left another person injured, authorities said.

Robert M. Farley, 61, was found dead in the debris of the Lake Norman, North Carolina, house Tuesday morning, said Kent Greene, director of Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management.

First responders arrived at the house a few minutes after midnight Tuesday and found Christian Rogers, 25, exiting the collapsed structure, Greene said. Rogers, a friend of the family, was transported to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte with a concussion. He is “awake and alert,” Greene said, but has not yet been discharged from the hospital.

Greene said gas must have accumulated over a long period of time and likely found its way to an ignition source, which caused the explosion. The blast, which local authorities have ruled accidental, originated in a bedroom and did not damage any surrounding homes.

Photos of the house show piles of rubble scattered across a large plot of land about 28 miles (45 kilometers) north of Charlotte. Outside, insulation hung from the trees and a king-size mattress blown from the house lie in the front yard on Tuesday. Wood debris and window frames were blown at least 50 yards (45 meters) from the blast. County property records list the tax value of the home as nearly $2 million.

“There could not be anyone in it left alive — that was my first thought,” Greene said. “And when I found out someone did walk out of it, I was amazed. This was a 6,300-square-foot home, and there’s nothing left but maybe a part of the garage.”

Property records list Caleb Farley as the homeowner. The Titans player was not there at the time of the reported explosion, Greene said. His teammates said earlier Tuesday that he was one of the last players to leave the locker room Monday night.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel called the situation “shocking” and said that the team will do everything possible to support Farley. His teammates confirmed that Farley, who was born and raised in nearby Maiden, North Carolina, had traveled home to the Tar Heel state Tuesday morning.

Farley, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was placed on injured reserve last November with a back issue. He has played 12 games in his first two seasons and is currently listed as physically unable to perform as the Titans wrap up training camp this week.

In college, the 6-foot-2, 197-pound cornerback was the first high-profile player to opt out of the 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. He lost his mother to cancer in 2018 and was unwilling to put another loved one at risk while playing at Virginia Tech.

Vrabel told the Titans about Caleb Farley’s loss at the end of Tuesday’s scrimmage, and then the players took a knee in an apparent prayer. He said what’s important is that they do everything to support Farley and his family.

“That’s the most important thing is to focus on him and not any of the … everything else is pretty trivial,” Vrabel said after practice at the team’s headquarters in Nashville.

Titans safety Kevin Byard lost his own mother in June 2022. He said he told Farley before he returned to North Carolina to lean hard into his faith.

“I know he lost his mother at a young age as well, so he’s dealt with a lot of adversity as well,” Byard said. “So just very tragic. And, you know, as a team and as a brother, all we can do and all I can do is to try to be there for him.”

The local fire marshal’s office is continuing to investigate the cause of the collapse along with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Dominion Energy and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Greene said he could not confirm whether the gas company or the homeowner would be liable for the damages. The gas meter used to measure the volume of fuel gases flowing into nearby homes has been sequestered and does not pose any present danger to others in the community, Greene said.

“Dominion Energy was among the first responders to the emergency on Barber’s Loop in Mooresville, where an explosion was reported at a customer’s residence,” spokesperson Bonita Billingsley Harris wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “We continue working in coordination with emergency personnel on this ongoing investigation. We are deeply saddened at the tragic loss of life.”