Matthew Stafford’s Wife Says Lions Fans Booed Their Kids And Left Them ‘In Tears’

Elyse Wanshel
·2 min read
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Kelly Stafford is calling foul.

The wife of NFL player Matthew Stafford says that she and her four children — Tyler, 3, Hunter, 5, and twins Sawyer and Chandler, 6 — were booed “on the sideline” before the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams wild-card matchup on Sunday.

“Hunter started crying on the field,” Kelly Stafford said six minutes into Monday’s episode of her podcast, “The Morning After.”

“And listen, this is not everybody. This is the fans that are the loudest,” she said. “But I will say one thing — we’re not playing the game. My girls and I are not playing the game. I know my girls are not getting booed. I am, and I can handle it. But when I have my girls next to me, there’s something to be said of like, maybe not.”

Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams and his wife, Kelly Stafford, after the Rams' defeat of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game in January 2022.
Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams and his wife, Kelly Stafford, after the Rams' defeat of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game in January 2022.

Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams and his wife, Kelly Stafford, after the Rams' defeat of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game in January 2022.

According to Sports Illustrated, Kelly Stafford posted an Instagram Story after the game that said: “It’s sports ... The city wants to win. Everything is fair game ... except the fans who booed my children.”

Matthew Stafford played as quarterback for the Detroit Lions for 12 years before he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2022, which likely added to Lions fans’ ire.

So when he returned to Detroit for the Rams vs. Lions wild-card game Sunday, Lions fans gave him an icy reception.

Kelly Stafford said on her podcast Monday that although “Hunter was in tears,” she took the opportunity as a “teaching moment for my children.”

She said she explained to her kids that “they are not booing you, they are booing Mommy.”

“[The fans are] very passionate and excited about this game, they want their Lions to win,” she said she told her daughters. “We’re on the other team ... We’re going to move on. Because there’s also fans in there that are cheering, that are saying ‘Thank you,’ but we’re not hearing that over the louder ones.”

Kelly Stafford said that after she explained this to her kids, one of her 6-year-old twins immediately cut to the chase.

“Sawyer looked at me, and she goes, ‘But we’re not playing the sport.’”

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