Five months after surgery to remove a testicular tumor, Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton walked six miles through downtown Austin in his underwear. He was one of more than a dozen doing the same.
On April 12, 2026, the group set off from South Congress and made its way to the Texas State Capitol and back as part of The Ball March, organized by NADS and the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation (TCAF).
Testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers in men aged 15–44 and one of the most treatable IF caught early. The Ball March raised funds for the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation and put that message in front of thousands of people who did not come to South Congress looking for it.
An Unexpected Diagnosis
Alex Singleton’s path to that march started with a piece of paper in his locker. In late October 2025, a routine NFL drug test flagged an abnormally elevated level of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in Singleton’s sample. The presence of hCG in a male typically means one of two things: external injection or testicular cancer.
Diagnosed Monday, Playing Thursday, Surgery Friday
Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
On November 3, Singleton and his wife, Sam, confirmed the diagnosis. Three days later, on Thursday night, he played in the Broncos’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders. On November 7, he had surgery to remove the tumor.
“I just want to play football. If this is the last time I get to play football like that’s what I wanna do,” he told Good Morning America. He called himself a lucky man. He was right.
The cancer had been caught early. His prognosis was favorable. In April, he was back in Texas, walking the route. His Broncos teammate Jahdae Barron, who lives in Austin, caught the livestream on Instagram, got in an Uber, and joined the group mid-route. He was not the only one to join along the way.
Common, Curable, and Overlooked
Testicular cancer is not a rare or unlikely disease for young men. Most men, however, go months before speaking to a doctor, if they speak to one at all.
A 2025 seminar published in The Lancet identified testicular cancer as the most common solid malignancy in men aged 15–44. The American Cancer Society projects roughly 9,810 new diagnoses in the US in 2026, nearly one new case every hour. Cleveland Clinic puts the overall cure rate at 95%, rising to 98% when the cancer is detected early. Those numbers are exceptional for any cancer, but they depend entirely on catching it in time.
Singleton’s case is a strange diagnosis path. His cancer was detected by a drug test designed to catch performance-enhancing substances, not tumors. He didn’t find a lump himself. A hormone marker gave it away. Most men won’t have that kind of accidental safety net.
The Two-Minute Check
The Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation recommends performing a monthly self-exam, and Cleveland Clinic agrees. It takes fewer than two minutes. The habit is the hard part.
How To Do It
Start after a warm shower. The heat relaxes the scrotal skin and makes it easier to feel anything unusual.
Examine one testicle at a time, with both hands. Place your index and middle fingers underneath and your thumbs on top. Roll it gently between your fingers.
Know what’s normal for you. The epididymis, a cord-like structure on the back of each testicle, is normal anatomy. Look for new lumps, size changes, or a new feeling of heaviness that wasn’t there last month.
If something feels different, contact your doctor. It may be nothing. It may not be. The only responsible move is to find out.
The Brand That Put Skin in the Game
Most brands release a ribbon graphic during Awareness Month. NADS organized a march.
The NADS-TCAF partnership started at the 2024 Testicular Cancer Conference in San Diego. When NADS co-founder Dan Baird brought the idea of a public underwear march to the foundation, they said yes.
This year, across a few miles of downtown Austin, participants drew questions, conversations, and the kind of second looks that lead somewhere. Baird later described the day as “awesome, hilarious, and meaningful.” Anyone who stopped to watch on South Congress that morning could have confirmed all three.
The goal was to raise $25,000 for TCAF programs, a target surpassed before the march even began, reaching $25,537 and counting. To support TCAF’s ongoing work, donations are still being accepted through the Ball March fundraiser page.
What the Ball-Natural™ Boxer Delivers
NADS Ball-Natural Baller Boxers
NADS was built around the belief that what a man wears against his most hormone-sensitive skin for 16 or more hours a day deserves more scrutiny than most men give it.
Their Ball-Natural™ Boxer is built around that idea:
GOTS-certified organic cotton fabric: A global textile standard with third-party audits across the full supply chain from farm to finished product, with no uncontrolled chemical finishes at the contact layer.
Organic cotton-enclosed waistband: The waistband elastic is fully wrapped in organic cotton, so no elastane makes direct contact with skin.
Undyed and unbleached Natural color option: The purest contact layer available in the line.
This is not a medical product. It doesn’t treat or prevent cancer. However, for men thinking about what they expose their jewels to every day, it’s a cleaner daily choice, one that replaces polyester textiles and uncontrolled finishes with certified organic cotton.
Habits Worth Keeping
Every October, pink ribbons appear on football helmets, cereal boxes, and social media feeds for 31 days straight, and that saturation of visibility has translated into real cultural change and countless saved lives.
April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, though that’s news to most men reading this. We men are notoriously bad at preventative health. Breast cancer awareness has earned its decades of momentum, and the work has saved lives. The version for the boys hasn’t gotten the same kind of attention, and it should. Along with raising general awareness, there are a few easy things you can add to your health routine to show your package you care:
Know your baseline. Check monthly.
Take new changes seriously. They warrant a conversation with your doctor.
Talk to a doctor before it gets worse, not after.
Examine what you wear every day. Ask whether it’s the best choice for the skin it touches.
Start With What Touches Skin
NADS
Organic Cotton BALL-NATURAL™ Boxer — Single Pack
The Ball-Natural™ Boxer from NADS provides a practical start for that last point. It’s GOTS-certified organic cotton at every point of skin contact, from a brand with enough conviction to march six miles through downtown Austin in its underwear.
Better habits start with the smallest, most personal choices.
NADS underwear is designed to reduce chemical exposure but is not a medical treatment. Consult a healthcare provider for concerns about testosterone, fertility, or reproductive health.
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