{"id":611106,"date":"2026-04-28T11:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/611106\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:12:11","slug":"kentucky-man-credits-younghoe-koos-embarrassing-botched-field-goal-attempt-with-saving-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/611106\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky man credits Younghoe Koo&#8217;s embarrassing botched field goal attempt with saving his life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"speakable\">One of the worst moments in Younghoe Koo&#8217;s NFL career last season may have saved a man&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">At least that&#8217;s how it seems if you hear Mark Toothaker describe what happened to him when he was home with his wife last December watching Monday Night Football as the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/new-york-giants\">New York Giants<\/a> played the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n<p>In the second quarter of the game, Koo, kicking for the Giants, suffered a terrible, funny, awful, embarrassing moment when he abruptly decided <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/giants-kicker-younghoe-koo-offers-bizarre-explanation-botched-field-goal-attempt-loss-patriots\">not to follow through<\/a> on a field goal attempt and the play turned into a Keystone Cops moment on national television.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps like many fans who witnessed the play, Toothaker began laughing at Koo&#8217;s expense. But suddenly, unexpectedly, the laughter turned into a crisis when it brought on a violent seizure.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/jameis-winston-has-play-year-candidate-after-insane-touchdown-catch-and-run-despite-giants-loss\">JAMEIS WINSTON HAS PLAY OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE AFTER INSANE TOUCHDOWN CATCH-AND-RUN DESPITE GIANTS LOSS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And that led to things, which led to things, which Toothaker believes saved his life.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;(The) kicker saved my life because it could\u2019ve happened any other time,&#8221; Toothaker told The Associated Press. &#8220;I wholeheartedly believe I was in the right spot at the right time, and he was the trigger for that happening. It was a miracle.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Toothaker sees a miracle in Koo&#8217;s aborted kick and his medical emergency , which he likens to getting &#8220;electrocuted&#8221; because his wife immediately called 911. When paramedics arrived, they whisked him to the hospital.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giants-younghoe-kim-missed-fg-001.jpg\" alt=\"New York Giants place kicker Younghoe Koo standing on the field at MetLife Stadium\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>New York Giants place kicker Younghoe Koo is on the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Nov. 16, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<p>A CT scan revealed a tennis-ball-sized tumor on the left side of Toothaker&#8217;s brain. So, yes, serious stuff manifesting after laughter<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When you hear the news, \u2018You\u2019ve got a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/health\/cancer\/brain-cancer\">brain tumor<\/a>,\u2019 that\u2019s what nobody wants to hear,&#8221; said Malory Toothaker, who happens to be a nurse who works with brain-injury patients.<\/p>\n<p>Toothaker was transferred to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/southeast\/kentucky\">University of Kentucky<\/a>\u2019s hospital, where the tumor was surgically removed. It turned out to be benign, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/chargers-take-advantage-obscure-nfl-rule-free-kick-field-goal-last-successful-1976\">CHARGERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OBSCURE NFL RULE WITH FREE KICK FIELD GOAL LAST SUCCESSFUL IN 1976<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Toothaker was home by the end of the week with no lasting damage and and he continues working at Spendthrift Farm whose thoroughbred Further Ado will race in Saturday&#8217;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/horse-racing\">Kentucky Derby<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/younghoe-koo-giants-1.jpg\" alt=\"New York Giants place kicker Younghoe Koo kicking an extra point at Gillette Stadium.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>New York Giants place kicker Younghoe Koo makes an extra point during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 1, 2025. (Eric Canha\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<p>Toothaker, 59, said he had no symptoms and no idea the tumor had pushed his brain six millimeters to the right as it grew. All Toothaker knows for sure is that his job as stallion season manager requires he drive and fly all around the country.<\/p>\n<p>And if that seizure had hit when he was in the air or behind the wheel, a cool story might have a different ending.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/bengals-new-kicker-cade-york-share-sideline-cowboys-cheerleader-girlfriend-mnf\">BENGALS NEW KICKER CADE YORK WILL SHARE SIDELINE WITH COWBOYS CHEERLEADER GIRLFRIEND ON \u2018MNF\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I could have had it on a plane, anywhere,&#8221; Toothaker said. &#8220;I didn\u2019t kill anybody. I didn\u2019t run over a family in my Expedition running up and down the road. I guess that would\u2019ve been the hardest thing for me to live with if somebody would\u2019ve got hurt out of this.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Believe me, as tough as that thing was, as violent as that seizure was, I have no memory of it and I would find it hard to believe that I wouldn\u2019t have hurt somebody or hurt myself if I would\u2019ve been behind a wheel.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/link.podtrac.com\/dmwdd_article\">ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON&#8217;T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/younghoe-koo-giants.jpg\" alt=\"Younghoe Koo of the New York Giants lines up a kick at Gillette Stadium.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Younghoe Koo of the New York Giants lines up a kick during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Dec. 1, 2025. (Kathryn Riley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Toothaker&#8217;s good fortune was part of Koo&#8217;s undoing.<\/p>\n<p>He was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/giants-waive-kicker-after-inexplicable-viral-moment-missed-field-goals\">released by the Giants<\/a> after a Week 15 loss to the Washington Commanders when he missed two field goals. The memory of the botched attempt against the Patriots definitely didn&#8217;t help his cause, either, as the team decided his fate.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fox News attempted to contact Koo for this story but he did not return a message.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know it wasn\u2019t his best moment, but it was beyond crazy,&#8221; Toothaker said. &#8220;For [Malory] and I to be belly-laughing at his expense, which I feel terrible about now, but it all worked out in the end, that for me it couldn\u2019t have been at a better moment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ArmandoSalguero\">FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X<\/a>:<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ArmandoSalguero\"> @ARMANDOSALGUERO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Armando Salguero is OutKick&#8217;s Senior NFL Writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the worst moments in Younghoe Koo&#8217;s NFL career last season may have saved a man&#8217;s life.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,259870,99],"class_list":["post-611106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-outkick-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}