Jason Pierre-Paul is using himself as a warning.
Nearly a year after the Giants defensive end mangled his right hand in a Fourth of July fireworks accident, Pierre-Paul has made a TV public-service announcement about the dangers of the explosives.
The PSA debuted Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” with Pierre-Paul recalling the panic he felt when a professional-grade firework went off in his hand and as he was rushed to a Miami-area hospital. “So Fourth of July, I lit up a firework, thought I could throw it away real quick, and in a split second blew off my whole hand just right there,” he says in the 45-second spot produced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“On the way to the hospital, all I could do is think about was my son and was I going to make it? Now I’m just truly, truly blessed to be alive. Now when I look at fireworks, I think about the safety.”
The 27-year-old Big Blue star was knocked off his feet by the explosion. And once the smoke cleared, JPP knew it was a serious problem.
“I don’t know what was going on until I got up and I looked up my hands and right then and there, I was like, I need to get to a hospital right away,” he told “GMA.”
The injury, which blew off his right index finger and severely damaged the rest of the hand, limited him to playing just eight games last season with the hand fully wrapped. “My recovery is good,” he said. “You just gotta overcome it.”
His message to Fourth of July revelers is simple.
“Leave the fireworks for the professionals,” he said. “Keep fireworks away from kids.”
The CPSC said there are about 11 deaths and thousands of hospital visits across the country each year because of Fourth of July fireworks accidents.
Commission Chair Elliot Kaye begged Americans to steer clear of touching fireworks, even basic handheld sparklers.
“Sparklers are incredibly dangerous,” he said.
With David K. Li