The Los Angeles Rams, quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, said Thursday that they would pay a photographer’s medical bills and replace her cameras after she fell off the stage at the team’s Super Bowl celebration Wednesday.
Kelly Smiley, a photo editor for the NFL, NBA and NHL and a freelance photographer, said Thursday on Twitter that she fractured her spine in the fall, which happened in front of Matthew and Kelly Stafford, after she stepped backward on the stage. In addition, both of her cameras were broken, she tweeted.
In a video that circulated on social media, Stafford appeared to notice that Smiley fell but walked away. Kelly Stafford, however, rushed to the edge of the stage to check on Smiley. Matthew Stafford was widely criticized on social media for his reaction in the video.
“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.”
A GoFundMe page was created to help Smiley and had generated more than $42,000 in donations as of Thursday afternoon.