As a local, you’re used to seeing that huge electrical substation every time you head over for a game. Operating since 1986, the industrial jumble of transformers and power lines stands, quite literally, in perfect oddity with the stadium’s shiny exterior. But it wasn’t until now that its presence became a source of discomfort. With George Kittle suffering a season-ending Achilles tear, conspiracy theorists have jumped in to blame the power plant. Soon enough, current and former San Francisco 49ers players followed suit.

“That’s been an issue since I was there,” former team player Delanie Walker said on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast. “They talked about us moving cuz everybody said it was giving people cancer. Everything dies where the power station is. So they would start telling us, ‘This may cause cancer. This is a study they’re doing.’ You can even feel it sometimes, the energy or something. And then a transformer exploded one day when were at practice. That sounded like a f——-g   bomb went off. I was like, ‘This is dangerous’.”

Notably, this comes a week after a self-proclaimed “board-certified” individual, identifying as Peter Cowen, made controversial claims, which were later debunked.

In a 12 tweet-long thread, Cowen mentioned how “low-frequency electromagnetic fields can degrade collagen, weaken tendons, and cause soft-tissue damage at levels regulators call “safe.” We have a real world case study proving this: An NFL team whose practice facility sits next to a massive electrical substation”.

He also called the 49ers “statistically the most injured team in the NFL over the past decade”. Reportedly, since moving to the Levi’s stadium in 2014, San Francisco have had 7-8 Achilles/patellar ruptures while the league average is two to three year in total, along with over 40 major hamstring/calf tears and high-ankle injuries every single year. “No other franchise comes close,” Cowen noted.

To substantiate his claim, Cowen also shared a video demonstrating some discrepancies in reading on his gaussmeter, an instrument used to measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields.

“At 11am on a quiet Monday, well below peak load, it read 8.5+ milligauss at the far edge of the fields. Inside the facilities (weight room, film room, recovery areas), potentially 10–25 mG, spiking higher during peak grid demand. Typical background exposure is 0.5-3 mG. Chronic ELF exposure is degrading the collagen integrity in the players tendons, ligaments, and muscle-tendon junctions. The damage is subtle, until a routine cut or block ends in catastrophic rupture. The injury pattern matches the biological fingerprint of prolonged ELF exposure documented in peer-reviewed research.” But, here is why Cowen’s theory doesn’t make sense:

For starters, 49ers players have been practicing near the power plant for nearly four decades. In fact, they also won three Super Bowls between 1988, the same year they moved to a practice facility adjacent to the substation, and 1994. In contrast, they moved to the Levi’s Stadium in 2014, clearly disproving Cowen’s theory. Nonetheless, medical experts still decided to weigh in.

“There is definitely at least basic science research that suggests electromagnetic fields can potentially help healing,” Dr. Nirav Pandya, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine for young athletes at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, reportedly said. “Unless you’re sitting in a lab and overexposing yourself, the (idea) that it would be detrimental and affect an entire team would be pretty remarkable.”

“I think crazy theories are fine,” Director of diagnostic medical physics in UCSF’s radiology department Dr. Michael Hoff said. “But, the fact that the rest of the world kind of goes, ‘Oh, maybe that’s true.’ That’s a scary thing. But that’s more about the internet. The idea is very, very crackpot. That’s not to say something that hasn’t been proven doesn’t exist.”

Unfortunately, these expert opinions also fell short of calming Kyle Shanahan’s roster.

“NFL players are lighting up their agents about the viral electromagnetic field theory for all the San Francisco 49ers injury woes,” Sam Fortier of the Washington Post reported on X.

Even for Shanahan and the Faithful, this is no longer background noise.

Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers may already be on the issue

In an EssentiallySports exclusive chat with Tim Wood, Peter Cowan made it clear these emissions carry long-term effects for everyone, not just players. However, when the talk shifted to protection, it became clear Kyle Shanahan and the Faithful are not sitting idle. As Cowan explained it, the league has already started moving in the right direction.

“In the third part of my essay, I mentioned that the NFL is actually ahead of the curve on some of this stuff. I don’t know if they have the same theory behind why they’re doing this stuff, but they’re on the right track,” Cowan said.

He then pointed directly to Santa Clara.

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“The Niners have a contract with Joovv, which is a red light panel manufacturer, and they have a whole red light room.”

That effort did not begin yesterday. The Niners were already using Joovv products before the 2019 season kicked off. Then in 2020, they made it official with a partnership. Inside Levi’s Stadium, the team installed a full red light therapy recovery room right next to the locker room. Players can walk in after practice, after games, or whenever their bodies feel worn down. That setup became routine well before their Super Bowl run.

According to Cowan, there is a real science behind it.

“Red light makes the mitochondria produce more water,” he explained in the interview with EssentiallySports.

“There are a lot of things that we can do to both reduce our exposure to these emissions and to mitigate the harm if we can’t reduce our exposure.”

Still, there is a catch. Players can stand under red lights all day, yet they still practice in EMF-heavy spaces. They still sleep under LED lights that throw off natural rhythms. They still move through stadiums packed with wireless systems.

Meanwhile, the Niners keep grinding through the playoffs. The roster feels patched together by grit and hope. Kittle faces months of rehab. Bosa will not chase quarterbacks again until next season.

So, let’s see how Kyle Shanahan plans the future amid the ongoing debate and noise.