Caleb Farley has broken his silence following the tragic death of his father, Robert M. Farley – who died when the NFL star's multi-million-dollar North Carolina home exploded on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old Tennessee Titans cornerback – who was not at home at the time of the explosion – took to his Instagram Stories and shared several videos featuring people raising a glass and remembering the 61-year-old, whose body was found in the debris of the lakeside property in the Charlotte suburb of Mooresville.
Caleb captioned one video: "Daddy you a legend I love you [for life]." Across a second, he wrote: "You wasn't suppose to go out like this pop." He also shared a photo of his dad on a golf course, and another of him soundtracked by Rich Homie Quan's song, 'Daddy'.
Director of Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management, Kent Greene, confirmed Robert Farley's death and revealed that family friend, Christian Rogers, 25, was also at the home and was taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. "There's a lot of devastation," Greene told the Tennessean. "There's nothing left of this structure except a partial wall."
Photos from the scene show piles of rubble scattered across a large plot of land, but the explosion did not damage any surrounding homes. Local authorities have ruled the blast, which originated in a bedroom, accidental and are investigating the property's natural gas lines.
Greene said gas is likely to have accumulated over a long period of time and found its way to an ignition source, which caused the explosion. Upon arrival at the scene, Greene said: "There could not be anyone in it left alive – that was my first thought. And when I found out someone did walk out of it, I was amazed. This was a 6,300 sq ft home, and there's nothing left but maybe a part of the garage."
Following the heartbreaking accident, Caleb's Titans coach, Mike Vrabel, gathered the players after practice on Tuesday and they kneeled to pray for their teammate's dad.
Speaking after practice at the team's headquarters in Nashville, he said: "What's most important is that we do everything we can to support [Caleb] emotionally. It's shocking. We've got to focus on Caleb and his family, and how we can support him."
Titans safety, Kevin Byard, said: "I know he lost his mother at a young age as well," referring to the death of Caleb's mom in 2018 from breast cancer. "He's dealt with a lot of adversity. It's very tragic. It's an unimaginable tragedy. 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."
Titans running back, Derrick Henry told reporters: "I'm just praying for Caleb. I just found out the news. I'm keeping him in our prayers. I'm praying for his family. I'm sending my condolences, we all send our condolences. It's a tragic situation."