Jim Harbaugh’s son recalls coming out story, support from his father
James Harbaugh Jr., the son of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, remembers the moment he told his father he was gay. And his father’s response. Harbaugh Jr. gave a wide- ranging interview with the Boston- based “Two Outs” podcast with WEEI’s Alex Reimer and the Boston Globe’s Steve Buckley. Both are openly gay members of the sports media.
“The first time I talked to my dad about it was after the ( 2016) election,” James Jr. “The night of, it was like 2 a. m. I had been crying and I told him I was really nervous and scared of how things were going to be now as I didn’t feel comfortable. He said something very encouraging back and I wasn’t sure, he and I had never talked about it, so I just flat out verbatim, for the first time, told him ‘ Dad, I’m gay, do you know that?’
“He said something back again, another encouraging ( response), that ‘ You need to keep your head up, as long as you do what you feel is right in your mind and live your truth ( then) everything will be OK.’ “
Harbaugh Jr. is one of Jim Harbaugh’s seven children, one of three from a previous marriage. He’s currently a student at Michigan studying theater and performing arts.
Recently, being in Ann Arbor, James, Jr. has been able to spend more time with his father and believes their relationship is stronger than ever.
“He’s supported me in everything I’ve done,” he said. “I know he’s supportive of me and I feel lucky in that regard, that my entire family is supportive ofme.”
James, Jr. credits his dad for igniting his passion for performing arts, as the elder Harbaugh once took his family to see a production of “Wicked” during his time as Stanford’s head coach.
From there, everything clicked.
“I can kind of credit my dad for getting me into theater, a little bit,” he said. “He took ( the family) and we went to see “Wicked” in San Francisco and I was blown away by it. . . . I remember thinking ‘ Wow, this is incredible, I’d love to be part of something that would make people feel this way.’ “
Theater is James, Jr.’ s passion.
But he still lives in a football family -with a father who coaches in college, an uncle who coaches in the NFL, a grandfather who coached for years and an older brother who is an assistant coach in college.
He joked that while he may be the only non- coaching member of his family, he still loves the game as much as anyone.
“I would challenge you to find ( anyone) at this university who is as into football as I am,” he said. “I come home with bruises from cheering so loud. I’m on top of those bleachers, throwing myself around, endangering myself for the sake of the game.”