Sunday morning, the New Orleans Pelicans made a tragic and devastating announcement: Lauren Holiday, two-time Olympic gold medalist for the women’s national soccer team and wife of Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor in late June.
Complicating matters, Lauren is pregnant with her and Jrue’s first child. The brain tumor is operable and doctors expect Lauren to make a full recovery, but her procedure will have to wait until after the baby is born in mid-October.
The due date of Jrue and Lauren’s daughter, along with the timetable for Lauren’s surgery and recovery (Lauren will undergo brain surgery about six weeks after the child’s birth) means that Jrue will miss the start of the NBA season.