March Madness has started and the NBA playoffs are just around the corner. Which means it’s time to ask the question: why don’t basketball players wear athletic cups?

The answer, according to Dr. Stephen Strup, the chief of urology at the University of Kentucky, is comfort.

When we first launched Diamond MMA, we put together a series of marketing videos guaranteed to prove that we’d designed a groin protection system that beat the old school “jockstrap plus plastic athletic cup” competition hands down. 

So, as the controversy continues about whether or not Ken Shamrock’s TKO loss to Royce Gracie in the first round of Bellator 149 was due to nut shot, instead of weighing in, we’re moving forward with our campaign to make sure that every athlete has the best possible protection for his package.

Last week, Spurs guard, Manu Ginobili, took a knee to the groin and wound up leaving the game and heading into surgery. He's expected to be off the basketball court for a month.
There's been some speculation about the extent of his injury, and how it compares to other recent testicle injuries. Other athletes have been back in the game much faster.

When a fighter receives a groin shot, it is usually not the pain inflicted on the penis, rather the testicles which brings the fighter to his knees.  The testicles are heavily innervated and when they receive blunt force trauma, a parasympathetic response is triggered which causes a visceral pain and sometimes the feeling of nausea. A severe blow to the groin or likewise to the kidneys or liver can cause blood vessels to dilate and a drop in heart rate.  This decreased blood flow can cause one to pass out.  Inevitably, even if one does not lose consciousness, people lose their ability to stay upright.  Other common symptoms from groin shots are dizziness and higher body temperature.  If there is enough damage, the testicle can rupture or swell so great that it impedes blood flow which leads to a surgical emergency.