Matthew Stafford & Los Angeles Rams Will Pay for Injured Photog Medical Bills
FRISCO - As the Los Angeles Rams paraded around the city celebrating their Super Bowl LVI victory Wednesday, one person's day ended in a trip to the hospital - and now criticism is coming in the direction of DFW schoolboy legend Matthew Stafford.
But the criticism is about to go away.
Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
Kelly Smiley, a photo editor for the NFL according to her Twitter bio, was standing on a tall platform at the end of the Rams' parade trying to snap a photo of quarterback Stafford and his wife Kelly when she slipped and fell.
When Smiley slipped, Stafford uttered "Oh, my God" and walked away from the scene while his wife tried to see if the photographer was OK.
The Rams and the Stafford family announced they will cover the hospital bills and replace the damaged cameras of the photographer.
“We have been in communication with Kelly Smiley since yesterday’s incident and we are sorry for what happened,” the statement reads. “As we told Kelly, we will be covering all her hospital bills and replacing her cameras. We wish her a speedy recovery.”
Several people raced over to Smiley to give her medical attention before she was rushed to the hospital following her fall and she learned she had fractured her spine.
Many people on social media were angry at Stafford's reaction to walking away after Smiley's fall and not seeing if he could help her.
Other people on social media are defending Stafford, stating that there wasn't much that he could do in that situation given his likely intoxicated state.
Several people on social media are asking the Rams and the NFL to pay for her medical bills, citing workers' compensation laws.
But now the Rams and the Staffords are involved.
Smiley's coworker, NFL photo editor Tim Kothlow, set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical bills and camera replacements, which has already raised thousands of dollars in less than 12 hours. ... and is as of Thursday night up to $42,000.
