The Rams celebrated their Super Bowl 56 victory with Wednesday’s parade in Los Angeles, but the celebration took a scary turn when NFL photographer Kelly Smiley was seriously injured in a fall from the stage.
Viral video circulated on Wednesday, showing Smiley with a phone to take a photo for Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, before falling backwards off the stage. The Rams quarterback faced intense criticism for how he reacted to the fall, turning away and not even attempting to check on Smiley. Kelly Stafford showed concern and went to check on Smiley before the feed cut away.
As the video went viral, Smiley revealed that she had suffered a fractured spine and damaged her camera equipment in the fall.
The photographer in this video is @kellysmiley23! She's an Aztec legend that worked with me on the paper at SDSU.
She fractured her spine when she fell and is still recovering in the hospital. Support her GoFundMe! https://t.co/tWWKEsTyHHpic.twitter.com/3SUDCavevL
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) February 17, 2022
Amid the calls to respond to the incident, the Rams and Stafford issued a statement on Thursday. They said that they would cover the medical bills and replace the camera equipment for Smiley.
Via abc7.com:
“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.”
An existing GoFundMe for Smiley has raised nearly $43,000 through Thursday evening. Let’s hope she makes a quick recovery.
