Luke Laufenberg, Son of Ex-Cowboys QB, Passes Away After Cancer Battle

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Luke Laufenberg, the son of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current radio host Babe Laufenberg, died Thursday following a long battle with a rare form of leukemia. He was 21.

Babe confirmed the heartbreaking news on his Twitter account.

“Today we lost a son, a brother, a friend, and a warrior,” he wrote. “Have never seen a person battle like Luke Laufenberg, but he lost his fight with cancer. He was truly inspirational. The hole in our hearts will never be filled. You are my hero. RIP my sweet Luke. See you on the other side.”

Luke was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma in 2017, when he was a tight end playing for Mesa Community College. Following rounds of treatment, including chemotherapy, he was declared cancer-free in 2018 but experienced further complications and issues from the illness.

This past February, Laufenberg accepted a football scholarship from the University of Texas El-Paso. He had participated in workouts with the team before his condition worsened and he was forced to move back to North Texas to be closer to family.

Per CBSDFW.com, doctors informed Luke and the Laufenberg family last month that “his condition was terminal and that he had just a few weeks left.”

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Jason Garrett Reacts to Luke’s Passing

The Cowboys’ head coach was supposed to hold his typical pre-practice press conference Thursday morning, but the news of Luke’s death took precedent. While fighting tears, a visibly-upset Garrett gave a touching statement on “an amazing young man.”

“You guys have heard me talk about fight a lot,” he opened, via ESPN.com. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a better example of that in my life. What he’s gone through over the last couple of years, the spirit that he had every day, to battle through it, to always be thoughtful about the people in his life, ‘How’s my mom doing? How’s my dad doing? How’s my brother doing?’ Amazing. You’d walk into the room and he’d just light up. Whatever was going on, he just had this way, this strength unlike I’ve ever seen. Unlike I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s such a tragedy. It’s so hard to understand. But I know I will be and everybody who ever knew him will be forever inspired by the life that he lived.”


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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter @KelbermanNFL