Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford says he regrets the way he reacted when a photographer at LA’s victory parade fell off the stage.
Matthew Stafford went viral for the wrong reasons during the Rams Super Bowl victory parade because of how he reacted to a photographer who fell off the stage.
Viewers of the video clip noticed that the quarterback didn’t immediately rush to check on her, instead turning and walking away.
Stafford and his wife Kelly discussed the incident on her podcast The Morning After with Kelly Stafford.
Matthew Stafford regrets his response to injured photographer
Kelly explained that the photographer, Kelly Smiley, asked if they wanted a picture together.
“When she offered, she stepped back and fell. And it was an awful, awful moment. Matthew looked at me and said, ‘Check her please,’ and turned around,” Kelly said.
While Kelly went up to check on Smiley, Matthew got on with the Rams celebration. But the couple say that there wasn’t a lack of concern.
“Long story short, we followed up with her,” Kelly explained. “The moment we got in the car, Matthew actually looked at me and said, ‘Hey, will you contact the Rams, ask how she’s doing?’ Did that, they’re like, ‘We think she’s going to be OK.’ We sent her flowers.”
It wasn’t until the next day they found out about Smiley’s fractured spine.
Matthew himself texted her to find out how she was doing.
On the podcast, both Kelly and Matthew agreed that his reaction could have been better.
“That obviously happened really quickly and suddenly and unexpectedly, and I wish I had a better reaction in the moment. I didn’t. I apologized to her for that, but glad that all in all she’s doing all right,” he said.
Regardless of what he’d change about his reaction, the Stafford’s ultimately did the right thing by pledging to pay for Smiley’s medical expenses and broken equipment.