49ers' Jed York Reacts to Electrical Substation Controversy, 'Didn't Seem to Affect Jerry Rice'

San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York doesn't seem interested in entertaining the conspiracy theory that an electrical substation near the team's practice facility could be affecting the health of players.

Appearing on the Up & Adams show with Kay Adams (h/t The Athletic's Matt Barrows and Daniel Brown), York noted the substation "didn't seem to affect Jerry Rice" when he practiced near it during his playing days.

"Jerry Rice was there," York said. "It didn't seem to affect Jerry Rice. It seems like Jerry Rice can still play today. I don't believe that's something that's a real issue. I think we can debunk it."

The substation conspiracy went viral on X last month when someone wrote that that low-frequency electromagnetic fields can degrade a body's collagen, weaken tendons and cause soft-tissue damage, then pointed out the 49ers' stadium and practice field are located near an electrical substation.

It gained steam in part because the 49ers have frequently been one of the most injured teams in the NFL—they lost the sixth-most games to injuries this season—but their practice facility has been located next to the substation since 1988.

Barrows and Brown did point out the substation was augmented in 2014, the same year that Levi's Stadium opened, and the 49ers built a weight room on the south ends of its practice fields that is only a few steps from the substation.

49ers general manager John Lynch wasn't as dismissive of the theory when asked about during his end-of-season press conference last month. He told reporters the team is looking into it.

Multiple medical professionals have said there is no credible evidence to suggest the theory has merit.

Frank de Vocht, an epidemiology and public health professor of at Bristol Medical School in England, told Sam Fortier and Albert Samaha of the Washington Post that the substation theory was "nonsense."

One potential answer that could have merit is Kyle Shanahan's intense practices.

Barrows noted in August the 49ers "practice harder and faster than most NFL teams, including in training camp."

If you go back to Shanahan's first season as head coach in 2017, the 49ers have lost the second-most games to players on injured reserve in the NFL. Only the New York Giants rank ahead of them in that category.

As entertaining as the electrical substation idea has become, the more rational explanation might be for Shanahan to examine how he runs practices to see if that might ease some of the stress on his players over the course of a season.

If all else fails, though, the 49ers could try to get Rice out of retirement to test himself against the power of electromagnetic forces to see which one will prevail.