Bears hit with rare unsportsmanlike penalty for using towel to dry field

The Bears were hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty for a towel

Chicago Bears punter Trenton Gill is also the team’s holder on kicks.

He wound up costing his team 15 yards and a chance at a field goal Sunday in the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers due to an obscure rule.

Here goes: Soldier Field had been inundated by rain, leaving the field soaked.

So, what’s a holder to do when his team is about to attempt a field goal?

Bring a towel onto the field to dry the spot for his kicker, Cairo Santos.

The problem is the rulebook somehow addresses the possibility of such situations and it calls for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Players are prohibited from discarding on the playing field any loose towels or other materials used for wiping hands and the football.

Instead of Santos attempting a field goal, Gill had to drop into punt formation.