Some big Chicago-area athletes are coming to the defense of Bears kicker Cody Parkey after Sunday night's heartbreaking loss.
Among them are Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, a Lyons Township alum, and former Chicago Bull Dwyane Wade.
"This is a stand up guy that a lot of young players can look up to. This is how you handle adversity like a pro. Cody is a heck of a kicker and will be for a long time. No reason to be taking the heat he is especially when that ball was tipped. #ClassAct," Elliott wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
Wade wrote to fans they "have no idea how hard this is to do."
"Cody Parkey way to face the media like a true professional. I’m a fan!" he tweeted.
Parkey has been the subject of much criticism throughout the season and even more since the team was eliminated from the playoffs.
His 43-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of the Bears' game against the Eagles bounced off the left upright and the crossbar before falling to Soldier Field turf.
Local
“It’s one of the worst feelings in the world to let your team down,” Parkey said after the game. “I’m gonna continue to put my best foot forward and sleep at night knowing I did everything in my power to go and make that kick, and for whatever reason I hit the crossbar and the upright, and I still couldn’t do it. I feel terrible.”
The NFL has since changed its ruling on the play, however, now saying the attempt was blocked.
The change was made Monday via a stat correction, with officials stating the field goal was blocked by Eagles player Treyvon Hester.
"The missed field goal by Bears kicker Cody Parkey that ultimately advanced the Eagles has officially been changed to a blocked kick after video review reveals that Philadelphia's Treyvon Hester tipped the football," the NFL tweeted.
Hester had said after the game that he tipped Parkey’s 43-yard field goal attempt, which bounced off the left upright and the crossbar before falling to the Soldier Field turf.
Video posted on social media appeared to show Hester tipping the kick.
The kick prompted a flurry of social media reaction, both supportive and negative, and Eagles fans began sending Parkey money on Venmo thanking him for missing the kick.
Parkey also faced threats and hateful messages on social media, which lineman Charles Leno Jr. spoke out against.
“What would my message be? F--- you,” he said. “You’re not in our position. You don’t know how hard this s--- is.”
Parkey signed a four-year contract with the Bears before the season, but his future with the team could be up in the air after the missed kick. It will be one of many questions that Ryan Pace and company will have to answer as the offseason begins.
