Matthew Stafford, by most accounts, was the star of the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl celebration parade Wednesday. However, one incident caught on tape is a rough look for LA’s quarterback.
At some point during the celebration in downtown Los Angeles, a photographer was getting shots of Stafford and his wife, Kelly, on one of the stages. The photographer, Kelly Smiley, went to back up and was too close to the edge of the stage. She ended up falling off, which can be seen in a video taken from the parade.
Kelly Stafford’s reaction was what you’d expect. She was stunned and walked toward the edge of the stage to check on Smiley. Matthew Stafford’s reaction, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Almost immediately, the quarterback — after exclaiming his disbelief — turned around walked away in another direction completely.
The fall was as bad as it looked, too. Smiley checked in via Twitter on Wednesday night, saying she fractured her spine in the fall while sharing the video.
In fact, one of Smiley’s friends set up a GoFundMe for the photographer.
“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,” the description reads. “Since Kelly is a working photographer, she needs this gear to help keep her working after fully recovering.”
Naturally, Twitter had opinions about whether Stafford should have at least pretended to care.
On the other hand, Stafford did have some who defended his actions — or lack thereof — including at least a couple who gave him a pass for being too drunk to help.
Whether that’s a good excuse is up to each individual, but there’s no question Stafford tied one off Wednesday while celebrating the first title of his 13-year career. Even so, you’d probably like to see him show perhaps an ounce of compassion, at least, given the situation.
