Niners to look into 'everything,' including substation theory - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After yet another injury-plagued season, the San Francisco 49ers intend to investigate every avenue to find out why those ailments continue to pile up year after year.

That includes an investigation into the viral conspiracy theory that the electrical substation near their training facility and Levi's Stadium is contributing to those injuries, general manager John Lynch said Wednesday.

«Because it deals with allegedly the health and safety of our players, I think you have to look into everything,» Lynch said. «We've been reaching out to anyone and everyone to see, does a study exist other than a guy sticking an apparatus underneath the fence and coming up with a number that I have no idea what that means? That's what we know exists. We've heard that debunked.… The health and safety of our players is of the utmost priority. We pore into it. Our ownership, Jed [York] is tremendous in terms of resources and we'll always be cognizant of things. I know that a lot of games have been won at this facility since it opened, but yeah, we aren't going to turn a blind eye.»

The theory that has been making the rounds on the internet and has crept its way into the 49ers locker room — receiver Kendrick Bourne alluded to it after tight end George Kittle tore his right Achilles in the playoff game against Philadelphia — suggests the Niners' lengthy injury list over the past decade-plus can be attributed, in part, to excessive exposure to electromotive force (EMF).

The 49ers have trained in Santa Clara since the late 1980s with the substation coming in a few years later. The station, which is operated by Silicon Valley Power, expanded in 2014 in conjunction with the opening of Levi's Stadium.

The theory has been shot