Police say 49ers owner tried to pay undercover agent for sex
49ers owner Jed York was arrested after allegedly responding to an ad placed by an undercover officer on a known prostitution site, police say
SANTA CLARA, CA — The San Francisco 49ers are trying to keep the main thing, the main thing. That’s football. And it’s their only focus.
Everything else is irrelevant when it comes to dissecting the sport and X’s and O’s surrounding the game. Still, there’s been a list of distractions that have diverted the attention away from the 49ers and their progression leading into Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
The 49ers have been the topic of swirling headlines all throughout the offseason and into training camp: whether it’s baseless claims of an electromagnetic substation theory relating to team injuries, Kyle Shanahan’s injuries from a vehicle collision or recently with Jed York’s Ohio arrest where he allegedly “arranged to have sexual activity” with a woman “in exchange for $140.”
San Francisco is deflecting the noise and keeping their focus remained on the gridiron. Shanahan doesn’t buy that the team is distracted at all.
“Well, the one thing that went on yesterday, I don’t think pertained to our players much,” Shanahan told USA TODAY Sports after practice on Aug. 25. “And if you guys talk about me getting in a car accident, I think that’s kind of a joke that people think that’s a distraction to our team. So, I think it’s been training camp as usual.”
Jed York situation ‘irrelevant’ to 49ers players
There was no special message or practice huddle addressing York’s situation. Shanahan said “it’s irrelevant” to the players. On the other hand, Shanahan shares a close relationship with York and expects the organization to still be the same.
“I got to talk to Jed the last two days and today. Obviously, it’s a very tough situation. I mean, views for the organization going forward is the same as usual. There won’t be any difference in that, but I know it’s extremely fresh,” Shanahan told reporters. “I think it’s a very, very personal situation. I’ve got a lot of respect for Jed. I got a lot of respect for Danielle [York]. Their family does mean a lot to me. So, with it being this personal, I’m trying as hard as I can to keep it that way.”
With everything that has become a topic of discussion with the 49ers, the message has consistently been to block everything out that’s not football. So with York’s situation or Shanahan’s accident, the 49ers head coach says it has no impact on the team.
“My view as the coach is does it have an effect on us as a team? And that’s what I continue to answer on. From a football standpoint, it has no effect on us,” Shanahan told reporters. “As far as what we do day-to-day, what we talk about. It hasn’t been mentioned in a meeting today, it doesn’t have to do with what happens on the field. Everything outside of there, I think you guys can judge that better than me.”
Santa Clara electrical substation still puts charge in rumor mill
Same goes with the persistent online chatter that claims the 49ers’ multitude of injuries over the years have been caused by an electromagnetic field current that radiates from an electrical substation that neighbors Levi’s Stadium, where the Niners practice and play, slowly breaking players down.
Many scientists debunked the theory months ago. It was even further stamped as “fake news” when general manager John Lynch went out and arranged a private investigation on whether the 49ers’ neighboring facility affected player health. The results determined that it was a “big nothing burger.”
“We did hire an independent scientist. He basically (said) it was a big nothing burger,” Lynch said in March 2026. “We’re safe. We’re in a safe place of work. The levels are 400 times less than an unsafe zone.”
It doesn’t help that a troll social media account was made for the Bay Area substation, likely continuing to feed into the notion that EMFs are effecting the ligaments and tendons of athletes.
If one thing’s for sure, the 49ers aren’t letting anything that happens off the field deter their performance on the field. No distractions, just football.
“Yeah, I think what people speak highly of and how this is ran, I think it’s ran from a complete football standpoint. I think that’s what’s refreshing here,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been a lot of places … I think that’s what people love about this place. Jed’s trusted the football to people who are involved in football, and players feel that.”
“I’ve been in too many other buildings where things do trickle down and when they trickle down and things don’t totally make sense, that wears on players also more than anything. I think here it’s pretty black and white for them. They know it’s always football decisions. Everything’s always been football decisions and because they know Jed’s put us in charge of making those,” he added.
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