Jrue Holiday to Miss Part of NBA Season to Care for His Pregnant Wife, Who Is Having Brain Surgery

Lauren Holiday retired from the U.S. women’s national soccer team last June in order to start a family with her husband, Jrue, a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.

That aspect of their plan is going great. The Holidays are expecting a daughter next month.

But a couple months ago, Lauren began having severe headaches, and an examination revealed a tumor on the right side of her brain, NOLA.com reported. 

"“My family comes before basketball,” said Holiday, 26. “I’m obviously blessed to play this game and be in the position I am in, but my wife is the most important thing in the world to me. She comes before anything else.”"

The tumor is operable and isn’t a threat to the health of the baby, but the operation will have to wait until after Lauren delivers her daughter, a timeline that pushes into the NBA regular season.

"Pelicans general manager Dell Demps and head coach Alvin Gentry met with Holiday and his agent, Jason Glushon, in early August in Los Angeles to outline a game plan for their star point guard. “The most important thing for Jrue to do right now is be with his wife and family,” Gentry said in a statement. “Every one of our coaches and players understands what Lauren and Jrue are going through, and they know we’re behind them 100 percent."

The plan is to have the surgery about six weeks after the delivery. Jrue will be away from the Pelicans as long as it takes to help Lauren through her recovery.