There is a lot of pressure on 17-year-old Anthony Spivey, a talented high school linebacker on the verge of graduating, who’s at the top of his class.
Tuesday morning, Spivey had the opportunity to ask Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon how he navigated college decisions and thoughts about his future. Gordon represents a dream life and career for many high schoolers at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet School in the Austin neighborhood, said Spivey’s mother, Elizabeth.
“It means a lot for the whole football team,” she said. “For these young Black men, they don’t sometimes have a lot of good stuff going on. … It gives them hope they can succeed.”
Gordon, nicknamed “Spider-Man” by Bears head coach Matt Eberflus in 2022, sat with Clark Principal Charles Anderson and several students on the school’s “sports podcast” to talk about his professional and personal ups and downs. He touched on his routines to stay disciplined in training, and how he gets over his mental blocks.
Freshman Tamaje Jordan asked what kind of environment he grew up in.
“Different ups and downs,” said Gordon, 24. “In and out of houses. Back and forth.”
Anderson spoke afterward about the investments he’s made at the school over the past nine years. He said a lot has changed since he’s been there. This year, they got a new field installed.
“Don’t make a kid feel like they got to walk through broken glass, torn-down houses, abandoned houses, and then say, ‘Go in there and learn,’” he said. “We’ve tried to instill a lot of pride in everything we’ve done here.”
Elizabeth Spivey watched her son pose for pictures with Gordon.
For Gordon, it’s about dishing out what he got as a young athlete, he said.
“I got to (talk to older players) when I was younger,” Gordon said. “So to be able to reciprocate and give back in a different community, I just love it.”