ANTIOCH — A Fourth of July fireworks explosion injured Antioch native and NFL running back Najee Harris, multiple sources have confirmed to the Bay Area News Group, but his agent assured fans that Harris would be ready for the upcoming season.
Officials said that other people had been hurt in the blast, but did not specify their number or how severely any of them had been injured.
Harris’ agent, Doug Hendrickson of Wasserman Sports, declined to comment when reached Thursday afternoon by the Bay Area News Group. A short time later, he issued a statement to multiple NFL reporters, saying that “Najee Harris was present at a 4th of July event where a fireworks mishap resulted in injuries to several attendees. Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.”
Officials with the Los Angeles Chargers — which signed Harris to a one-year deal ahead of the 2025-26 season — could not immediately be reached for comment.
Online forums and social media were abuzz with fans exchanging rumors and concerns over Harris. NFL veteran Jason Pierre-Paul, most recently of the Miami Dolphins in 2023, continued for some nine seasons after suffering a major hand injury in a 2015 fireworks incident.
The mishap happened about 12:20 a.m. July 5, in the 2200 block of Spanos Street, and injured more than one person. In a statement, Antioch police said some of the injured were treated at the scene and hospitalized. Others drove themselves to a hospital, police said.
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