Matthew and Kelly Stafford, Rams React to Woman Who Fractured Spine in Fall at Super Bowl Parade

02/17/2022 10:24 pm EST

The Los Angles Rams, their quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly are making sure the woman injured at the team's Super Bowl parade is taken care of. Kelly Smiley, a sports photographer who works as a photo editor for the NFL and the L.A. Kings of the NHL said she fractured her spine after falling off of a stage during the celebration. Stafford took some heat after a video of the incident surfaced online that shows him walking away after seeing her fall as Kelly checked in on Smiley. On Thursday afternoon, the Staffords and the Rams released a joint statement and revealed they will pay smile's medical bills. 

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

This comes after Smiley's friend Tom Kothlow launched a GoFundMe page to help with the medical bills. As of this writing, the page has raised over $44,000. "The funds raised by this gofundme will help cover Kelly's growing medical expenses as well as replace the camera gear that was severely damaged due to her fall," Kothlow wrote. "Since Kelly is a working photographer, she needs this gear to help keep her working after fully recovering. Kelly is loved by all who know her and is a well-respected individual in the photography community. Please consider donating to this gofundme to help Kelly hit the ground running after she heals up."

The Rams held a parade a few days after the team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI 23-20. It's the Rams' second Super Bowl title overall and first in Los Angeles. For Stafford, it is the first championship in his career after spending his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions. 

 "This is just a long time coming for a lot of guys, you know, this is Andrew Whitworth, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, so many great players, Robert Woods on our team, Cooper, so many guys that I could name who just deserve this from the way they go to work every single day, from the way they care about each other as teammates and people," Stafford told reporters after the game. "Just so happy to get it done for those guys."  

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