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Ron Rivera to skip Panthers practices this weekend to attend brother’s funeral

Eric Edholm
Ron Rivera to skip Panthers practices this weekend to attend brother’s funeral

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera will miss practices this weekend to attend his brother’s funeral.

Mickey Rivera, 56, died on Tuesday after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, and Coach Rivera sent out a tribute to his brother on Twitter that day.

Rivera will miss Panthers practices on Saturday and Sunday to attend funeral services in Reno, Nev., according to ESPN. Panthers assistant head coach Steve Wilks will run the show in Rivera's absence.

"It's been a series of ups and downs," said Rivera, who received the news while moving back into his house, which was heavily damaged by fire that happened during the Panthers' playoff run in January. "We got back off of vacation and we were moving back into our home, and then we got the word about my brother, Mickey.

"It did make it tough. For the most part he's in a better place now. In Mickey's mind he didn't want to be a distraction, but the timing was not good."

The Panthers knew Rivera's brother was sick last season and he served as inspiration for a team that started out 3-8-1 but won its final four regular-season games to steal the NFC South crown and upset the 11-5 Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Seattle Seahawks.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!