New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday is married to a fantastic athlete and new mother, Lauren Holiday. She was formerly a member of the United State Women’s soccer team, winning the Olympics gold medal twice in 2012 and 2008. She missed the 2016 Olympics due to her pregnancy. She also found out during her pregnancy that she has a brain tumor.
The couple met in 2008 when both were attending UCLA. Jrue went on to be drafted and play for the Philadelphia 76ers and currently the Pelicans but recently has fought through a litany of injuries over the last two seasons. He’s currently missing time, without a date in mind for a return, to be with his wife as she gives birth and fights the brain tumor.
Following from Justin Verrier of ESPN.
Lauren Holiday gave birth to a healthy girl this week, New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis said Friday, and both the team and her husband, Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, now await her surgery to remove a benign tumor from the right side of her brain.
“She had a baby girl, so she’s doing fine,” Davis said at the Pelicans’ media day. “Now it’s time to get Lauren back on track.”
Lauren Holiday, 28, a former U.S. women’s national team soccer player, was expected to undergo surgery six weeks after giving birth, and Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said she is currently preparing for the procedure.
The child’s due date was set for mid-October, but the Holidays planned to induce labor sooner to expedite Lauren Holiday’s surgery. The couple has resided in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area, near the Duke University medical specialists who will handle the surgery, and several Pelicans teammates recently went to visit and to work out with Jrue Holiday.
Doctors believe that Lauren Holiday should return to full health.
“If you had to choose a person to be able to deal with this and go through it, it would be Lauren Holiday,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “She’s a very, very tough individual. Having Jrue there for support is very important. In our case, we told Jrue to forget about the basketball part of it. This is where you take care of your family. And we’re going to welcome him back whenever he feels that it’s time to come back and his family is in good hands. To me, that’s the most important thing.”
Congratulations to Lauren and Jrue and also prayers go out as they continue to fight towards a full healthy and happy family.
