One week after he went viral over his reckless reaction to a photographer who broke his spine in the Los Angeles Rams Super Cup rally, quarterback Matthew Stafford now says he regrets his answer – or lack thereof.
“Yes, I mean, it obviously happened very quickly, suddenly and unexpectedly, and I’d like to have a better response right now,” Stafford told his wife Kelly in her podcast The Morning After.
NFL photographer Kelly Smiley was seen in a viral video last week walking backwards and falling from a six-foot scene outside LA Memorial Colosseum, where the post-parade rally took place. Smiley was taking a picture of the couple on Kelly Stafford’s cell phone just before the incident.
Although he fell off the screen, a group of concerned onlookers, including Kelly, were spotted hurrying to Smiley’s attention.
Stafford himself was not one of them.
Apparently full of heroism, after leading Rams in a winning 79-yard drive against Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl LVI, Stafford seemed to say “oh my God” and immediately turned when Smiley fell to the ground.
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A week after he went viral over his reckless reaction to a photographer who broke his spine in a Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl rally, quarterback Matthew Stafford (left) now says he regrets his response or lack thereof. “Yes, I mean, it obviously happened very quickly, suddenly and unexpectedly, and I’d like to have a better response right now,” Stafford told his wife Kelly (right) in her podcast The Morning After.
Kelly Smiley, who filmed the event, was seen in a video accidentally leaving the stage in front of the Coliseum of the Los Angeles Memorial, where the rally took place after the parade. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is seen in black on the left side of the frame
Although she fell off the screen, a group of concerned onlookers, including Stafford’s wife, Kelly (right, in blue), were spotted rushing to Smiley’s attention.
Later on Instagram, Smiley showed the brace she was given in the hospital, writing that she was “feeling good” but “spending the night in the trauma (sic) center”
Smiley later revealed on social media that she had suffered a fracture of the spine, which infuriated Stafford’s apparent lack of interest in her well-being.
But talking to her husband in her podcast, Kelly Stafford claims that public perceptions of the incident are distorted.
“We can’t help but talk about what happened,” she told her husband. “There was a photographer who came down from the back of the stage, asked if we wanted a picture, and I said yes, because looking back at my camera, I literally have zero from Matthew and me. ‘
“When she offered, she stepped back and fell,” Kelly Stafford continued. “It was a terrible, terrible moment. Matthew looked at me and said, “Check it out, please,” and turned.
Initially, Smiley – who says on her website that she works as a photo editor for the NFL, NBA and NHL – said she only suffered broken equipment.
Stafford wrote on Twitter after his visit to the emergency room, saying: “Unfortunately I broke my spine.”
Kelly Smiley (left, right), a photographer filming the Rams Super Bowl celebration in Los Angeles on Wednesday, says she suffered a spinal fracture falling from the team’s stage in front of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who walked away instead of offering help. Later on Instagram, Smiley showed the brace she was given in the hospital, writing that she was “feeling good” but “spending the night in the trauma (sic) center”
Kelly Stafford said she went to Smiley and “she can see she’s fine.”
Kelly Stafford later said the couple “followed her” after the parade.
Matthew actually looked at me and said, “Hey, are you going to contact the Aries, ask how she is?”
According to Kelly Stafford, the Aries told the couple “we think she’ll be fine” and they agreed to send her flowers.
But Smiley’s diagnosis was far from right.
“We wake up the next day, it’s not good,” Kelly Stafford continued.
“What a gentleman.” Fathers do better in educating your sons. Men to be better mentors. #BeKindAlways #MatthewStafford she broke her spine while doing her job. We hope that the water you drink is SALTY “, tweets Petra Malusklava.
Initially, Smiley – who says on her website that she works as a photo editor for the NFL, NBA and NHL – said she only suffered broken equipment. Later, on Instagram, Smiley showed her back brace, which was placed in the hospital, writing that she was “feeling good” but “spending the night in the tram center (sic)”.
“Unfortunately, I broke my spine,” she wrote in the post.
Kelly said her husband contacted Smiley via text message, but so far his immediate withdrawal in response to the fall has gone viral.
Kelly Stafford said the quarterback had sent an SMS to Smiley, but his reaction had already gone viral by this time.
“I did not apologize to her for that, but I am glad that she is doing well overall,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s one of those things you try to train your reactions to be a little better next time.”
Another tweeted: “I sincerely hope that you will recover from this unfortunate fall. Matthew Stafford could (sic) be more sympathetic and ask if he was okay or call the security guard, but instead he drank from his water bottle and left as if nothing had happened.
@ Waffles1975 said the incident “shows everything you need to know about Matthew Stafford’s character right there”
Smiley, who will inevitably be burdened with medical bills after a broken spine, also had the support of another user, Christopher Carly, who said: “I hope Matthew Stafford can find a little spare in his 60.5 contract million dollars received by young ladies GoFundMe.
“Trying to figure out how obviously intoxicated Matthew Stafford will help this lady,” writes @PostinMonkey
Rams announced last week that the team would cover Smiley’s medical expenses and help her replace her broken cameras.
Matthew was sharply criticized on social media, with many criticizing him for his classless behavior.
“What a gentleman.” Fathers do better in educating your sons. Men to be better mentors. #BeKindAlways #MatthewStafford she broke her spine while doing her job. We hope that the water you drink is SALTY “, tweets Petra Malusklava.
Another tweeted to Smiley: “I sincerely hope you recover from this unfortunate fall. Matthew Stafford could (sic) show more empathy and ask if you were okay or call the security guard, but instead he drank from his water bottle and left as if nothing had happened #Classless. ‘
User @ Waffles1975 said the incident “shows everything you need to know about Matthew Stafford’s character right there.”
Smiley also had the support of another user, Christopher Carly, who tweeted: “I hope Matthew Stafford can find some spare amount in his $ 60.5 million contract he gets on the young lady’s GoFundMe.”
However, some defended him, saying he could not help because he was drunk.
“Trying to figure out how obviously intoxicated Matthew Stafford will help this lady,” wrote another Twitter user.
Matthew Stafford raises a bottle to cheer on Rams fans attending Wednesday’s rally in LA