NEED TO KNOW
The San Francisco 49ers said they have proof that an electrical substation near their training facility is not responsible for players’ injuries
While at the NFL’s annual meetings, general manager John Lynch shared the findings
Last season, the team lost Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and George Kittle to season-ending injuries
A scientist has helped put to rest a viral conspiracy theory that an electrical substation next to the San Francisco 49ers’ training facility has been responsible for a spate of player injuries.
Niners general manager John Lynch shared the findings with reporters while at the NFL’s annual meetings on Sunday, March 29, according to ESPN.
“It basically was a big nothingburger,” Lynch said. “We’re in a safe place of work. … It’s a normal place of work. It’s a normal gym. We are safe, we’re healthy, and we feel really good about that.”
Lynch declined to identify the scientist, but said he has “over 45 years of experience studying electromagnetic fields and their effects.” The scientist used “lab grade equipment” to read electromagnetic output and took measurements in any space that players occupy when at the facility, ESPN reported.
San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium
Credit: Kirby Lee/Getty
The study was commissioned by the team to assuage future free agents’ qualms about the facilities after a viral online theory put forth the idea that injuries to a number of the players were due to where their training facility was situated.
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“That was important to us, not just to turn a blind eye, but to look into it because it’s our players’ wellness,” Lynch said. “It’s not only our players’ wellness, it’s coaches, it’s staff, all that. And it’s encouraging.”
Last season, the team lost three key players to season-ending injuries: defensive end Nick Bosa (torn ACL), linebacker Fred Warner (broken ankle) and tight end George Kittle (torn Achilles).
The team also lost quarterback Brock Purdy (turf toe), receivers Ricky Pearsall (sprained knee and ankle) and Jauan Jennings (rib, shoulder, ankle injuries), first-round pick Mykel Williams (torn ACL) and linebacker Tatum Bethune (groin tear) for long periods of time.
In January, Warner downplayed the theory — and joked that, if anything, the substation gave him “superpowers.”
“There’s a lot of mixed reviews about that, I think at the end of the day, when you look at the actual data behind ‘Is that real or not?’ I think that’s false,” Warner, 29, said on the St. Brown Podcast. “I’ll be the first to tell you, because I train year-round at our facility. And I’m not going to sit here and say a substation is the reason why I got my ankle broke in half, that was a fluke injury, right?”
He added, “But before that, I had missed one game. I had one game missed on a fluke [hamstring injury] where I stepped wrong. I had been super healthy for seven-plus years … The substation may have gave me superpowers, I don’t know. I guess if you just overdose on it, you get Hulk strength or something.”
Read the original article on People