Aaron Murray’s weekend gets worse as he learns his father has cancer

In the passionate world of sports, it's sometimes easy to forget that athletes are people, too.

So when Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray revealed on Twitter this last weekend that his father had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was undergoing surgery Monday morning, it put Murray's poor performance against South Carolina last week into perspective.

Murray's father, Denny Murray, had been diagnosed a few weeks ago, but Murray didn't learn of the disease until Sunday.

"Probably the worst 12 hours of my life but I know my family will push through. Keep my dad in your prayers please," Murray tweeted.

This was after Murray returned to Georgia to find his home egged and rolled with toilet paper following the Bulldogs' 35-7 loss to South Carolina. Murray played the worst game of his season, completing just 11 of 31 passes for 109 yards and one interception.

Murray's poor play can't be linked to the news of his father's illness since he found out later, but perhaps fans will be a little more sensitive moving forward. Yes, Murray was a part of a big loss -- a loss that probably knocked the Bulldogs out of the SEC title game -- but now he has bigger things to worry about than football.

Thanks to AJC.com

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