The 49ers' substation injury theory persists, even after it has been debunked

In post-truth America, facts routinely take a backseat to opinion. For the NFL, the best ongoing example of that is the theory that the proximity of an electrical substation to the 49ers' practice field is causing player injuries. The 49ers have hired an expert who debunked the theory that the electrical waves have contributed to the team's recent rash of injuries. A continuation of that trend in the early days of 2026 training camp has done nothing to help that finding take root. Enter Pablo Torre. The latest episode of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pablo Torre Finds Outdelves into the question and, unlike the scientific evaluation of non-fat yogurt that discovered the presence of fat, Pablo and company have confirmed the conclusion that, as characterized by 49ers G.M. John Lynch, it's a "big nothing burger." But that won't stop outsiders and, more importantly, insiders from wondering about the link. Facts be damned. If players believe there's a connection, it's not ideal for that possibility to be rattling around inside their brains. A recent profile of 49ers CEO Al Guido included, almost in passing, an acknowledgment that the team could be moving to a new facility because "they are running out of space" in their current location, which is adjacent to Levi's Stadium. Whatever the stated reason, moving the practice fields will be the only way to kill this issue. Every year, injuries during 49ers' camp (which are inevitable for all teams) will spark a flood of social-media memes and fresh content from the Twitter account named for the substation. We live in an age in which science, research, and reality are routinely rejected for the subjective beliefs any given person chooses to stubbornly hold. The world is flat. The moon landing was a hoax. Birds aren't real. (And that's just a few of them.) For the 49ers, the fact that the substation isn't a factor in injuries is immaterial to the reality that too many people think it is. The only viable solution is to get the hell away from the thing.