Super Bowl: Rams, QB will pay bills for photographer who fell off stage during parade

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford will cover the hospital expenses and damaged camera equipment of a photographer who fell off a stage during the team’s Super Bowl LVI victory parade.

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Kelly Smiley, a sports photographer who works as a photo editor for the NFL and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, said she was injured as she stepped back to take a cellphone photograph of Stafford and his wife during Wednesday’s parade in Los Angeles, People reported.

“Unfortunately I fractured my spine,” Smiley tweeted, sharing a clip of her fall, KTTV-TV reported.

In the live feed of the incident, which aired on KTTV, Smiley was on the main stage and took a few steps back as she used Kelly Stafford’s cellphone to take a photo, according to People. She did not realize she was at the edge of the stage and fell, CBS Sports reported.

The video appears to show Matthew Stafford see Smiley fall and say, “Oh my,” before turning and walking away as he sipped from a water bottle, KTTV reported. Stafford’s wife, Kelly Stafford, appears to be shocked as she stepped to the edge of the stage to check on Smiley.

Matthew Stafford has been criticized for his reaction but may have been intoxicated and not realized the severity of Smiley’s injuries, according to his wife’s Instagram story posts. Former quarterback Tom Brady, who tossed the Vince Lombardi Trophy from his boat to another one with teammate Rob Gronkowski aboard during last year’s Super Bowl celebration in the waters off downtown Tampa, Florida, offered some advice Wednesday in a tweet.

“Mix in a water, Matt,” Brady tweeted. “Trust me.”

On Thursday, the Staffords and the Rams released a joint statement, according to NFL.com.

”We have been in communication with Kelly Smiley since yesterday’s incident and we are sorry for what happened,” the statement read. “As we told Kelly, we will be covering all her hospital bills and replacing her cameras. We wish her a speedy recovery.”

Smiley later shared a video clip from the hospital to her Instagram story, People reported. Smiley was sitting in a back brace while giving a thumbs-up gesture.

“Feeling OK. Staying the night in the trauma center,” Smiley wrote. “Thank you everyone for reaching out.”

Smiley’s friend, Tim Kothlow, started a GoFundMe page to help cover her expenses. As of Thursday night, the page had raised more than $45,000.

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