Getty Matthew Stafford pictured with wife Kelly Stafford after the Rams' NFC Championship win over the 49ers.
Not everything was celebratory at the Los Angeles Rams‘ Super Bowl victory parade on Wednesday, February 16.
While there was the scene of celebrating Ram players and coaches including Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald and head coach Sean McVay through alcohol and cigar puffing, a scary scene unfolded when a photographer fell off of a stage outside of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
A Twitch streamer identified as “Logan the Hammer” shared the now-viral video on Twitter.
@AdamSchefter get on Matthew Stafford watching a photographer fall of the stage at the Rams parade and walk away 🤦♂️
Now, the photographer who took the fall has broken her silence on that moment.
The Injury Diagnosis & Stafford’s Involvement
The photographer’s name is Kelly Smiley. Her injury? She revealed it in response to a Barstool Sports tweet: A fractured spinal cord.
Smiley also shared how she broke both of her cameras in her fall from the stage, but added “I’m OK.”
In another statement on her Instagram story, Smiley wrote, “Feeling OK. Staying the night in the trauma center. Thank you everyone for reaching out” while having a brace around her torso.
A friend of Smiley’s named Tim Kothlow has since set up a GoFundMe page – which quickly surpassed its initial $30,000 set goal thanks to over 1,000 donations – to help aid the freelance photographer’s recovery.
Smiley will also receive added financial help from the Rams quarterback, who has taken heat on social media over his immediate reaction at the scene. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on Thursday, February 17, Stafford and his wife Kelly will be covering Smiley’s medical expenses.
Rams’ QB Matthew and Kelly Stafford announced they will be covering the medical expenses for Kelly Smiley, who fell off a stage during Wednesday’s Super Bowl parade and fractured her spine: “We have been in communication with Kelly Smiley … and we are sorry for what happened.”
Who Is Smiley?
According to her biography on her personal photography website, Smiley is a native of Long Beach, California.
“Being able to capture a magical moment has always been something I have been drawn to and is one of the reasons I started photography,” Smiley said in her bio.
Along with her NFL work, Smiley is a full-time photo editor for the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. She is an award-winning photographer with one first-place photo from the 2017 California Journalism Awards: Her capturing a young Rashaad Penny hurdling over a Boise State defender during the running back’s San Diego State days — which is the first photo in her portfolio gallery on her site.
Even though Boise State did everything to shut down San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny, he still had a couple nice moves, including this hurdle
Smiley is a graduate of San Diego State, earning her bachelor’s degree in multimedia. She is a 2018 graduate of SDSU.
And, per her Linkedin page, Smiley worked as a photographer for the Rams beginning in August 2021. Smiley was able to snap one moment from the Rams’ Super Bowl win that she posted on her Instagram:
Support for Smiley Includes Pro Football Focus Writer
Support for Smiley has since surfaced.
One supporter is Pro Football Focus writer Austin Gayle, who shares an SDSU Aztec connection with her.
“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!” was what Gayle tweeted.
Another friend and colleague of Smiley, Adriana Heldiz of Voice of San Diego, is another who made the push for donations to help cover Smiley’s medical expenses.
“@kellysmiley23 is a great friend of mine from our SDSU days and an amazing photographer. The video of her accident while out taking photos is not something we should take lightly or made fun of. Let’s support Kelly as she goes through her recovery,” Heldiz said through Twitter.