One of the best known secrets in the NBA is that Evan Fournier has a last name that no one should ever Google because the sights might be a bit too rough on the eyes for those knowing what they’re doing.

It’s been an ongoing joke for quite a while. Just like Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter is he who shall not be named, Evan Fournier has turned into Evan don’t google for some, with the player himself joking about it, or maybe being completely serious when giving out the warning about using his last name in a search engine.

So what gives? Why is googling the last name of the French player, now with the Orlando Magic, so dangerous to your well being and eyesight?

Well, it’s because of Fournier gangrene, an acute necrotic infection of (usually) the genitals of older men. It can also occur in women and children. It is more likely to occur in those with diabetes, alcoholics, or those who are immune compromised. It’s named after French venereologist, Jean Alfred Fournier following five cases he presented in clinical lectures in 1883, although it was first described by Baurienne in 1764.

The early symptoms are usually fever or pain in the genital area, followed by rankness and smell of the affected tissues leading to full blown gangrene. [WARNING: Don’t press the link]. It looks as awful as it sounds.

It can actually result in death when left untreated or through complications, and is the result of an infection by both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. There are measures to treat the disease, but the mortality rate is 40% but 78% if sepsis is already present at the time of initial hospital admission. Herod the Great and even Roman emperor Galerius may have suffered from the condition.

Fournier simply has a nasty last name when you connect it to the disease. The player himself is only 23, and is playing in his fourth NBA season, averaging 14.2 points per game this season on the Magic, his best since starting his NBA career.

Image: Source