Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh spoke at the annual Right to Life rally in Washington, D.C., on Friday, just 11 days after he won his first national championship.
Harbaugh took to a stage at the annual pro-life event and thanked those in attendance for braving the frigid temperatures.
“Thank you all for being here,” he said. “It’s a great example that you’re setting. It’s a testimony for the sanctity of life.”
“It’s a great day for a march!” the devout Catholic shouted.
He then said, “This is football weather! Let’s go!”
Harbaugh also introduced former NFL tight end Ben Watson to the crowd, referring to him as a “warrior for the sanctity of life.”
Before Harbaugh addressed tens of thousands of attendees in the snow, he spoke to The Daily Caller about what the cause of protecting the unborn means to him.
“You know, we all talk about human rights. There’s really no rights that are important unless you have the right to life,” Harbaugh said.
Are you pro-life?
The coach added, “This is a great day for a march. It’s a great day for the sanctity of life, and football weather. Let’s make it a great day.”
Harbaugh also told conservative influencer Jon Root that 70 of his team’s players were baptized this past season.
“There’s a spiritual mission to our team,” the coach said. … “The young players on our team are incredible examples.”
Got a chance to chat with Jim Harbaugh about his bold pro-life stance, where he’ll potentially coach next & more at the @March_for_Life pic.twitter.com/tftKJbBiBj
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) January 19, 2024
Harbaugh, 60, has never hidden his faith throughout his playing and coaching careers.
He previously said that if one of his players at Michigan were to father a child through an unplanned pregnancy, he and his wife, Sarah, would step up to give the child a chance at life.
“I’ve told [them] the same thing I tell my kids, boys, the girls, same thing I tell our players, our staff members,” the coach told ESPN in July 2022. “I encourage them if they have a pregnancy that wasn’t planned, to go through with it, go through with it.
“Let that unborn child be born, and if at that time you don’t feel like you can care for it, you don’t have the means or the wherewithal, then Sarah and I will take that baby.”
Harbaugh led the Michigan Wolverines to a 15-0 record this past season, defeating archrival Ohio State in November for the third consecutive year.
In the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Day, Harbaugh’s team beat Alabama.
On Jan. 8, Michigan defeated Washington to win its first national title since the 1997 season.
It is unclear if Harbaugh will return to the Ann Arbor school in the fall, as he is rumored to be interviewing for several vacant NFL head-coaching jobs.
