Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly Hall have addressed the viral incident that occurred at the Super Bowl LVI parade in L.A. For those that haven’t heard about this situation, the Rams quarterback, 34, and his wife were celebrating at the parade on Wednesday (Feb. 16) when suddenly, photographer Kelly Smiley fell off the platform right in front of them. The moment was captured on video, and showed Matthew ignoring Smiley’s fall and walking the opposite direction. His wife, meanwhile, rushed towards Smiley to see if she was okay.
After the Staffords received backlash, they released a statement alongside the Rams on Thursday (Feb. 17). It read, “We have been in communication with Kelly Smiley since yesterday’s incident and we are sorry for what happened. As we told Kelly, we will be covering all her hospital bills and replacing her cameras. We wish her a speedy recovery.”
Joint statement from the L.A. Rams and Matthew and Kelly Stafford, on Kelly Smiley, the photographer who fractured her spine after falling during the team’s Super Bowl parade: pic.twitter.com/V9l4EG8fE0
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) February 17, 2022
Stafford saw her fall and told Kelly to take care of it pic.twitter.com/FmzGJNZQXf
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 17, 2022
Smiley, who is a full-time photo editor for the NFL revealed after her fall that she suffered a fractured spine and broke her cameras. She later shared on social media that she was “feeling okay,” although she did spend the night in “the trauma center.” A GoFundMe page was created to help Smiley with her medical expenses. Over $47,000 has been raised, but if the Staffords keep their promise, those donations won’t be needed.
“She is very thankful and is overwhelmed by the amount of love and support that has been shown,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Kelly has been discharged from the hospital and is resting at home. We are pausing the fundraiser for now until we have further updates on how to proceed. Again, thank you all for the support and for the help in reaching the goal so quickly.”
Matthew and Kelly have been on cloud nine since the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 for the title of Super Bowl LVI champion. Matthew had multiple standout touchdowns at the game, which was held at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, while Kelly watched in box seats with their four daughters. The whole family went wild when Matthew won his first-ever Super Bowl.