The Los Angeles Rams celebrated their win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI by holding a victory parade outside of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday.
As the festivities were coming to an end, a scary moment occurred when photographer Kelly Smiley fell backward off the stage while taking pictures of Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly.
The incident was caught on video, which shows Stafford walking away after appearing to notice the fall. Kelly Stafford, however, rushed over to Smiley to make sure she wasn’t badly injured.
Stafford nevertheless was criticized on social media for his reaction. To make good on his mistake, he and the Rams released a joint statement in which they apologized to Smiley and offered to cover all of her hospital expenses, via ESPN.com:
“We have been in communication with Kelly Smiley since yesterday’s incident and we are sorry for what happened,” the Rams and the Staffords said in a joint statement. “As we told Kelly, we will be covering all her hospital bills and replacing her cameras. We wish her a speedy recovery.”
Although the footage shows Stafford walking away from Smiley, there may be a logical explanation for his inaction. He potentially could have thought there was a security guard at the bottom of the stage to help Smiley, and it’s also worth noting the quarterback was drinking during the parade.
Smiley confirmed on her Twitter account that she fractured her spine and had to stay overnight at a trauma center. She added that both of her cameras were damaged from the fall as well.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help Smiley pay for her medical bills and photography equipment. As of Friday morning, the campaign had raised over $48,000 from more than a thousand donors.
