Patriots' Devin McCourty, wife mourn loss of stillborn daughter

May 31 (UPI) -- New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty and his wife, Michelle, are grieving the loss of their daughter, Mia, who was stillborn last week.

"I cry as I type this. Dev and I suffered the most painful experience of our lives," Michelle wrote Saturday on social media. "My pregnancy had resulted in a still birth at almost 8 months of being pregnant -- at exactly 31 weeks 2 days when we found out that the baby girl growing inside me no longer had a heartbeat after being completely fine the week before at my last doctor's [appointment].

"We are so heartbroken. We are devastated. We are speechless. We are angry. We are sad. We are confused. We are numb."

McCourty, who has spent his entire 11-year NFL career with the Patriots, shared his wife's post on his social media accounts. In recent interviews, the veteran safety expressed his excitement about the arrival of their third child.

"While trying to cope with our family's loss, we appreciate the love and support we've already gotten, and just ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, since we have no answers to give anyway," Michelle wrote.

McCourty and his twin brother, Jason, are finalists for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the 2020 ESPY Awards. The award is given to those "whose demonstrated leadership has created a positive impact on their community through sports."