Levi’s Stadium, the host of Sunday’s Super Bowl, is the target of a viral — but unfounded — conspiracy theory related to mystery injuries.
The San Francisco 49ers, who play their home games at Levi’s Stadium, have been riddled with serious injuries for the past couple years, and some are speculating that it has to do with an electrical substation next to the stadium’s practice fields.
A viral theory behind the 49ers’ unusually high number of soft tissue and non-contact injuries is based on the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) coming from the substation.
There are claims that being around EMFs for years could weaken tendons and soft tissue, leading to more ACL tears, Achilles injuries, hamstring pulls and similar issues.
Star 49ers Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, Brock Purdy, Dre Greenlaw and numerous others have sustained serious injuries over the last couple of years, adding juice to the theory.
But is it cause for concern with the biggest game of the year in just two days?
If you ask some of the 49ers stars, they are staying quiet.
“Dude, I am not a scientist, and I’m not a doctor. Look, we’ll play anywhere. You know, for us, I think that’s stuff that a lot of people smarter than me can talk about,” McCaffrey told the media during a Super Bowl media show.
“All I know is, you know, there’s too many variables in football to just say that something like that is the reason for injuries. I mean, you can do everything right and bad things can still happen, so.”
Purdy was more mum about the whole situation.
“I don’t really know what to think of it. You know, I think people are doing their research on it and whatnot, but, you know, for me, I have no idea,” he said. “I mean, I’m gonna continue to practice there. Obviously, it’s my job and I love the Niners. So yeah, I have no other choice.”
Linebacker Fred Warner, who missed time this season, had a different take.
Warner said “ignoring it for now” but said he believes some research may have to be done.
“I think, of course, since it’s been such a hot topic that there’ll be more research done on it to see exactly if anything comes of it. But I think it’s been there for so long that, of course, we had the injuries we did this last this past season, especially the high-profile players. So, it was just kind of like a hot topic, basically, and we’ll see what comes of it,” Warner said.