Protective garment for sports participation

A protective garment for minimizing injury to the wearer as a result of impact to the general area of the heart for use in sports participation and the like comprising a shirt having a front side, said front side having a heart portion worn generally in front of the heart and having an abdomen portion, an impact resistant laminate mounted heart portion to shield the general area of the heart, said laminate comprising a protective plate and a cushioning structure mounted in front of said plate, said protective plate functioning as a means to disperse an impact force, and said cushioning structure functioning as a means to cushion the degree of impact from the impact force and to extend the time of impact for minimizing the likelihood that the impact would be confined to the instant of time between heartbeats, said cushioning structure being a layer of padding, a second layer of padding being provided on the side of said plate between said plate and the wearer's body and each of said layers of padding extending peripherally around said plate and being peripherally secured together to sandwich said plate therebetween.