Ron Rivera was declared cancer-free in January after what was a very difficult 2020 season for him. Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Ron Rivera gets emotional after big surprise from Washington players

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 10/1/21

It’s pretty clear that coach Ron Rivera and the Washington Football Team have a strong bond. That’s evident by what the team did for him on Friday.

Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in 2020, but had his one-year biopsy this week to confirm the coach remains cancer-free. When that came back negative, Washington players produced a video celebrating their coach and discussing what he means to them. The players also gathered donations for charities that fund new cancer research and treatments.

We are all still #RiveraStrong

The team surprised Coach with this video and donation in today's team meeting after Coach’s one-year biopsy this week came back negative pic.twitter.com/at349DV9Ca

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) October 1, 2021

This is just awesome, and you can see what it means to Rivera. He actually has to compose himself at the end, understandably so.

Rivera was declared cancer-free in January after what was a very difficult 2020 season for him. Washington’s players had a good look at how difficult it was for him to coach through cancer treatment. It’s hard not to be inspired by that.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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