Jim Harbaugh Doubles Down on Heroic Pro-Life Belief

CLAY: This is interesting. Jim Harbaugh is a coach at the University of Michigan, and he came out in a pro-life statement recently, started to get some criticism. The Big Ten conference — of which Michigan is a member — is having their media days, and Harbaugh was asked about those comments, and he doubled down, tripled down, maybe even quadrupled down on them. He said he tells any player or staff member that has an unplanned pregnancy that if they don’t want to keep the babies, that he and his wife will raise them.

Listen to this.

CLAY: So, Harbaugh stepping right out there letting you know what his opinion is on abortion. Now, this is somewhat revolutionary because, as Buck and I have discussed, the world of sports regularly left-wing opinions are allowed, promoted, praised. But as soon as you say anything other than something far left wing, you get ripped to the high heavens and usually guys or girls who step out there like Jim Harbaugh come running back with their tails ticked between their legs. I thought this was interesting because Harbaugh went aggressively behind his opinion that he’s already shared, and credit to Sage Steele, who is one of the actual sane people who works at ESPN, she tweeted this:

Well, so, Buck, there you go. Jim Harbaugh — we talked about the fact that he had come out pro-life — doubled down on it, said, “Hey, you work at the University of Michigan, affiliated with our football team and you don’t think you’re able to take care of a baby, my wife and I will raise it.” He says he tells everybody this associated with the team, and I love that whatever his opinion is, he’s sharing it, he’s owning it, and he’s not running in the other direction from it.

BUCK: Well, he’s a true pro-lifer. He stands behind his principles, and he means it. It feels almost heroic these days for somebody in the public eye to come under that kind of assault and go all-in on it, you know? Matt Gaetz doubled down on something funny. Harbaugh is doubling down on something real.

CLAY: Significant, and I think he’s sending a message that if you own whatever your opinion is, people ultimately back down because truth is its ultimate defense.