Jim Harbaugh Is Not A Food Critic
[Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog]
Jim Harbaugh is the first person to admit he's obsessed with football. Everything else is secondary. This is a man who traveled to Paris with his wife, went to a Mexican restaurant that appears to be decent but by no means world-renowned, and declared it the best restaurant while also boiling down his personality into a damn near perfect tweet.
I"m not a food critic, merely a blunt instrument who only knows football. In my opinion this restaurant is the Best! pic.twitter.com/oIdvpemrIn
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) July 15, 2015
Harbaugh is a blunt instrument. He doesn't get sick. He doesn't take holidays. He's a jackhammer. We know this.
Harbaugh also has strong ties to the military. One of his oldest, closest friends is retired Marine colonel Jim Minick, who now serves at Michigan's director of football operations. He has a well-documented history of bringing in military officers to speak to his teams. He stops by Omaha Beach while on vacation. He welcomes servicemen into his office and genuinely looks more excited to take a photo with them than vice versa.
Which brings us to yesterday. Harbaugh emerged from the fall camp submarine—his term; he's also referred to it as a "bunker"—to address the media for the first game-week press conference of the season. Harbaugh is well-known for his unpredictable, off-the-cuff answers in pressers (not to mention on Twitter). We have a "jim harbaugh says things he probably shouldn't" tag, and the proprietor of this site has described him as "being himself at maximum volume at all times" on multiple occasions.
The odds that Harbaugh had the time or inclination to seriously ponder Colin Kaepernick's protest of the national anthem before the press conference are exceedingly low. This is a football coach known for being way more football-obsessed than even the average football-obsessed football coach. He's briefly emerging from three weeks of fall camp and its four-hour practices and endless film study to talk about the Hawaii game. He's probably aware of the basic details of Kaepernick's protest, but that's not anywhere close to his primary focus. He's thinking about his team, preparing for Hawaii, and not letting on anything about the ongoing quarterback competition.
[Hit THE JUMP.]
Fifteen minutes into a twenty-minute presser, Harbaugh is asked about Kaepernick. This is how our press conference correspondent, Adam Schnepp, transcribed the exchange:
As someone who knows Colin Kaepernick, what do you think about his stance to sit during the Anthem, and do you think it will cost him his job with the 49ers?
“I acknowledge his right to do that, but…I don’t respect the…the motivation or the…or the action.”
He pauses three times in that one sentence, which stands in stark contrast to the rest of the presser. The video shows a man who is searching for the right words and isn't quite sure he found them:
Harbaugh sounds off on Colin Kaepernick's protest... pic.twitter.com/5IwcD5bw6a
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) August 29, 2016
Harbaugh went off-the-cuff, which is his nature. He didn't choose his words carefully.
Colin Kaepernick, on the other hand, has spent a great deal of time thinking about his motivation and his action. After the media picked up on his protest, he spent 18 minutes discussing in detail why he won't stand for the national anthem. Before that, he addressed the 49ers in a players-only meeting, one that teammates described as both "productive and informative." At least one player whose initial reaction mirrored Harbaugh's emerged from the meeting with a different mindset:
“To be honest with you, I took offense to it,” 49ers center Daniel Kilgore said upon learning Kaepernick opted not to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner out of protest for what he sees as injustice for minorities in the United States.
“But after Kap stating his case today, and seeing where he was coming from, I do stand with Kap when he says, ‘Enough is enough against crime and the violence, discrimination and racism.’
“I believe enough is enough. I can see where people would think it’s bad with the national anthem and the military. For me, I’m going to stand there every time. I’m going to think about and honor those who are fighting and those who have fought, my family members, my friends. If Kap decides not to, that’s his decision.”
While Kilgore may not be joining Kaepernick in protest, he acknowledges and understands the impetus behind it, and that is a critical distinction.
Harbaugh, unlike Kilgore, didn't talk to Kaepernick this week. My assumption, based on Harbaugh's reaction and that of many others, as well as his background, is that he viewed Kaepernick's protest as a disrespectful act to the military, to which the flag and the anthem are inextricably linked; just look at Michigan's upcoming military appreciation festivities for the UCF game, which will feature "two large American field flags [that] will be held by over 150 veterans and service members" during the anthem among several other military tributes. I doubt he'd considered Kaepernick's pointed views on police violence, not to mention his direct experience with it:
-Q: Have you ever been pulled over unjustly or had a bad experience in that regard?
-KAEPERNICK: Yes. Multiple times.
I mean, I’ve had times where one of my roommates was moving out of a house in college and because we were the only black people in that neighborhood, the cops got called and all of us had guns drawn on us. I mean, came in the house without knocking, guns drawn, on one of my teammates and roommates.
So I have experienced this. People close to me have experienced this. This isn’t something that’s a one-off case here, a one-off case there.
When Harbaugh initially said he didn't respect Kaepernick's "motivation," he unwittingly invalidated the very real issues that Kaepernick is addressing with his act of protest. It was one of the worst possible word choices. Immediately after the press conference ended, he corrected that error:
I apologize for misspeaking my true sentiments. To clarify, I support Colin's motivation. It's his method of action that I take exception to
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) August 29, 2016
If Harbaugh had said that initially, he wouldn't be in the midst of a media firestorm, or at least not one that's nearly this heated. While he still takes exception to Kaepernick's action, that's a position that doesn't invalidate years, decades, centuries of America's history, as well as the present state of relations between police and minorities in many parts of this country.
You may still disagree with Harbaugh. Kaepernick's protest is nonviolent, even nonintrusive—he sat for the anthem in the first preseason game, too, and nobody noticed—and when the media picked up on it, it sparked a nation-wide conversation that's led to some remarkable revelations. I majored in history; without Kaepernick's protest, I wouldn't be aware of the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner. That appears to be the case with one of Harbaugh's star players, Jourdan Lewis, as well. If the goal of protest—a deeply American act dating back to the very genesis of this country—is to raise awareness of issues and drive change, Kaepernick hit the mark; again, look at the reaction from his teammates after the players-only meeting.
You may still disagree with Kaepernick, too. The national anthem and the flag are symbols that, for many of us, stand for freedom, equality, and the sacrifices so many have made to uphold those values. Kaepernick's freedom of expression extends to his critics, and they have a valid point, too: many, many people have died fighting for the country and values that flag symbolizes, and Kaepernick's actions can be interpreted as disrespect of that country and those values in that context. I can't know for sure, but it's quite possible Harbaugh feels that way.
This is all well and good as long as there's an acknowledgment that this discussion has valid opinions on both sides. Harbaugh's initial statement didn't leave room for that. His clarification did.
In an ideal world, Harbaugh would've been prepared to address the issue—the question wasn't hard to see coming—and better express his true feelings on the matter, or acknowledge that he wasn't ready to address it and put forth a no comment. His brother, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, had thought through his answer enough to quote Voltaire when asked about Kaepernick:
"Voltaire so eloquently stated, 'I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend it until death your right to say it,'" John Harbaugh said. "That's a principle that our country is founded on. I don't think you cannot deny someone the right to speak out or mock or make fun or belittle anybody else's opinion."
Jim Harbaugh, however, is a blunt instrument. He answered the question. By his own admission, he missed the mark.
I hate when people tell sports figures to stick to sports. These are people with experiences and opinions that are often quite valuable, and they have a larger platform than most. Context matters, though. Jim Harbaugh is not a food critic. He is not a politician. He is not a social commentator. He is a football coach. We shouldn't be surprised that he sounded like one when asked to address a complicated, nuanced, and controversial social issue in between questions about the depth chart and this season's schedule.
August 31st, 2016 at 12:23 AM ^
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August 30th, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^
The media sure likes to stir shit up, huh?
August 30th, 2016 at 4:11 PM ^
The whole reason I love sports is that it represents an oasis unsullied most of the time by the desert of insanity out there. A UFR makes me smile. A presidential debate, not so much. If the NFL or the NBA or here decides to squeeeeeeze a little politics into sport, then it's all a desert. Too many more of these, and mgoblog is expendible because I value my sanity over a sanctimonious scold of a football coach.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:21 PM ^
First Comcast, now this....
August 30th, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^
A) This was an ambush question.
B) There is not a racist bone in Harbaugh's body.
While the Kaepernick story is a national story, it is not a Harbaugh story.
Harbaugh needs to be left out of it. Period.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:41 PM ^
August 30th, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^
That said, the ball was dropped.
The second the Kap story came out, I KNEW this scenario was going to happen: Harbaugh would get asked about it (it's a given) and it would play out in one of two ways.
What I hoped would happen is either Harbaugh would say "no comment" or a coachspeak line about being here to talk about Michigan and its players - either because that's what he thought of to do or because some higher up in the AD, some PR person, would take 30 seconds to have a conversation with him to ensure this would be the case.
The second scenario, which is the one I was concerned about, is what actually happened. Not only did Harbaugh not approach his response with nuance, by saying he disagreed, but went the extra length of saying he not only disagreed with the action but also the motivation.
Now fortunately he walked it back - I would suspect because the aforementioned PR person was like "oh shit" and had that 30 second conversation with Harbaugh after his presser , rather than before.
It's good that he walked it back but the fact that he said it to begin with is a terrible look, no matter what type of sympathetic read you give to it.
Bottom line is it never should've been said. Given all that Ace said about Harbaugh being a blunt instrument, etc., YES. This is true and Michigan knows that this is what they have on their hands here, and the fact that they didn't do a small thing, to proactively mitigate damage that could be done from him doing what he did when responding to a predictable question about what is a heated issue in our society, is a major failure by the athletic department.
Not even getting into the principle of it and whether one agrees or disagrees with Kap, if we look at it from strictly a pragmatic standpoint, you better believe, to cite one possible repercussion, that this is going to be used to negatively recruit against Harbaugh, framing him as racially insensitive.
So, yes. All that Ace said about Harbaugh is true. And it's precisely because of that, that this thing was a failure by the AD for not seeing this coming the second the Kap story broke and not ensuring either a "no comment" or a John Harbaugh type answer. It would've been simple, quick, and yet wasn't done.
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August 30th, 2016 at 4:21 PM ^
I'm not sure what the AD was supposed to do . . . pull Harbaugh aside and give him talking points on something that may come up that has nothing to do with Michigan?
You could make the case to do something like that every day.
Can you imagine Harbaugh's reaction to being forcibly "prepped" before every press conference? I would not want to be in that room.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:25 PM ^
You really don't see how predictable it was that he'd get asked about a very controversial, unfolding story about one of his former players, one whose success he had a major hand in?
So yes, in this instance, someone in the AD does pull him aside, say, "hey, chances are you're going to be asked about this. What's your response?" And if it's not "no comment" or at least something nuanced, then explain this is a racially sensitive issue and for the sake of the university he needs to keep that in mind in his response.
That's a 30 second conversation about a predictable question that everyone should've seen coming..... A far cry from daily presser prep.
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August 30th, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^
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August 30th, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^
"Says Ufer, "Bo has two categories of things in his life: what matters and what doesn't matter. What matters is football. What doesn't matter is everything else. Bo is the kind of guy who is so dedicated that he doesn't realize how he's coming off....As Don Canham, athletic director at Michigan, says, "Bo is oblivious to life."
Sports Illustrated, September 14, 1981
When Schembechler got here in '69, the campus was in a continual state of agitation over the war in Vietnam, and the Black Action Movement (BAM) initiated major protests in 1970 and '75 over issues involving minority representation and treatment on campus. It was well-known at the time that Bo was a pretty conservative Republican, and a small portion of the University community disliked him intensely because of that. Regardless, Schembechler's views never had any impact on his coaching decisions; as the above quote indicates, he was single-mindedly focused on one thing and one thing only: winning football games.
I came to A2 as a freshman in '71, and I don't recall Bo ever being asked a question about Vietnam or civil rights protests in any press conference or media interview. I suspect that simply represented the prevailing journalistic practice at the time, but I also would guess that any reporters covering him would know that such questions would piss him off in a major way since they were diversions from what he saw as his only job: coaching Michigan. To his credit, Schembechler never tried to bring his own politics into any public discussion, either. At the time I was similar to a large portion of UM student football fans—I knew that Bo's opinions and mine could hardly be more different, but I didn't give a shit; he was there to coach football, not make public policy or offer pronouncements on same.
I'm a bit skeptical that Harbaugh's initial statement didn't accurately reflect his own inclinations on the issue that Kaepernick raises, but whether or not his initial statement was a misstatement, he recognized that it was problematic and he acted quickly to prevent it from being a bigger distraction than it already was. As with Schembechler, I don't really give a shit, either—Jim Harbaugh is here for one reason, and that doesn't include what he believes about politics or religion. He's very similar to Schembechler in some ways, but he's far more likely to opine on things other than football in a manner that Bo never was. That may cause him problems depending on the situation, but one thing we can count on is this: like Bo, Harbaugh will never let his own views affect how he coaches the Michigan football team, and that's as it should be.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^
Amen.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:30 PM ^
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August 30th, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
the wisdom of Don-san. Thank you and I agree with the "amen"!
August 30th, 2016 at 4:18 PM ^
My old hippie mom adopted an African American and a second Hispanic son, she lives in a bad area, she teaches these kids that cops are bad, racist and out to get them. They hate cops because of this education. When I talk to them I argue the opposite, I tell them that cops have a difficut job that maybe before they deal with you they just got out of a violent situation, or saw a murder victiim, or got shot at, fucking with them mght not be the best thing to do. I teach them that cops are people too and they aren't out to get you, why, because if you hate cops and start fucking with them because of it, you may get shot. Not because of the color of your skin but because you were fucking with them.
I think protests like Kaepernicks and statements made by him about cops only continues this wrong logic and puts more cops and all people at risk. standing for the anthem supports this country and the positive things it stands for, do we have issues and things to continue to address sure, but making the country wrong, cops wrong will only perpetuate the problem. 5 cops with families were murdered in Dallas motivated by this thinking. Over 100,000 police are assaulted every year, obviously the vast majority of these do not end in a cop shootings.
My point is, IF we are going to have a discussion about this issue and someone like Harbaugh says what he says, and if he did mean it, maybe there was a reason and something that needs to be explored in that direction as well, instead of being PC and shutting him down.
I was pulled over unjustly just two months ago, cop totally screwed up and pulled over the wrong guy, same thing happened 20 years ago when I was on Federal Land, it happens, it wasn't racial of course, if I were not white and was raised to hate cops I would of course say it was because of race.
The only way to change the future is to stop dwelling in the past.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:51 PM ^
Hypothetical -1
Turning a fairly inoccuous statement taken live and blowing it way, way out of proportion.
-1
August 30th, 2016 at 4:21 PM ^
hoping this was the OL preview post.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:26 PM ^
I thought it was going to be about where to get an actually good $2 steak.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:27 PM ^
Two wrongs don't make a right, and he has every right to express himself but I have every right to disrespect him disrespecting our nation and implicitly implying we are a country of racists based on a false narrative that doesn't stand up to any statistical analysis.
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August 30th, 2016 at 4:38 PM ^
I would love to see the questions and answers that fed this "statisitical analysis" you seem to think is real.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:41 PM ^
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August 30th, 2016 at 7:02 PM ^
August 30th, 2016 at 4:30 PM ^
1) This isn't so much of an issue with what he did as it is with who was doing it. My first, very cynical reaction was that "Wow. Kaep must be afraid of being cut." Not fair, but hey-- I said it was cynical.
I am not saying that he shoudn't have done it, I am just saying it would carry more weight if he had come off a good season. Right now, I my reaction is a tepid "3" on a scale of 1-10. It would be a "9" if LeBron or Antonio Brown or someone with more to lose did it. It's not fair, but it's true. Again, not saying he shouldn't have done it, but I am saying that it doesn't do much for me.
2) I hate, hate, hate the when people say "Bringing awareness to an issue is important." That is true only if people don't know about it. People are well aware of the issues he was protesting.
So, again, my reacation isn't toward him, it mainly toward how he is being portrayed. What he did was an act of defiance, it was a expression of distaste toward the state of affairs-- it was not just "raising awareness." It was a demonstration of awareness.
TL;DR: I should give him more credit, but I don't because he sucks; people should give him more credit generally because it was more "defiant" than how it is being portrayed.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:37 PM ^
I'm not how you could argue someone like LeBron James, one of the five greatest NBA players of all time whose worth literally hundreds of millions of dollars and just signed a fully guaranteed $100 million contract, or a legitimate NFL superstar like Antonio Brown have more to lose than Kaepernick, who at the moment is a backup QB who could be released tomorrow and never play another down after this issue.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:46 PM ^
Money.
It's well known that you get the most money from sponsorships when you stay directly on the fence in the public eye.
That way Timmy dip fucklip in his fishing boat who hates "NObama" is ok with buying his son the new Lebrons, but then again so is Jimmy hipster Bernie sticker free world.
Michael Jordan is one hell of a business man. Tiger followed him. Now it's LeBrons turn.
August 30th, 2016 at 5:32 PM ^
Just two years ago Kaep was being touted as the best quarterback in the league.
What did he do two years ago when he could've used his fame to make a difference...he got fined for using the N word.
Now he's a 3rd string quarterback with no other interest from other teams desperately trying not to get cut because he siged a contract that had large flashy $$, but had shitty language in it. Now if he gets cut, there will be a huge outrage against the 49ers.
*The timing may just be coincidental, but while I'm not saying that's what I believe I understand why others think he might have a side motive.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:36 PM ^
August 30th, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^
Well the nation has a longstanding habit of overvaluing symbols and rituals as tests and measures of patriotism. Interestingly enough, the NFL's post-9/11 decision to immerse itself in outward patriotism has helped fueled this trend.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:49 PM ^
All of football's attempts to become a tool for patriotism, the military ("Pro Combat" uniforms and related terminology, camo everywhere, flag patches, increasingly aligning itself with military groups, etc.), the idea that football itself is a "combat sport..." It's troublesome at best, disrespectful at worst.
Football is a sport. Sports are meant as diversions from the real world. I for one would appreciate more football and less heavy-handed expectations that my attendance at a football game means I should participate in endless rituals of military pomposity and blind flag-waving. Let football be football.
August 30th, 2016 at 8:13 PM ^
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August 30th, 2016 at 5:34 PM ^
August 30th, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^
And now we have a five page (and counting) front page topic about something that nobody was talking about.
I am not a fan of this post, in any way whatsoever.
edit: came back to ask you to take it down, Brian. Please.
August 30th, 2016 at 5:13 PM ^
This is really poor attempt for Ace to just get his Kaepernick take in by making the Harbaugh comment much bigger than it is. Really poor form here.
August 30th, 2016 at 5:30 PM ^
I saw absolutely nothing on the story in any of the national media outlets of any significance - The Ringer had nothing, ESPN paid it almost no attention and the tradiional news outlets (outside of Detroit) havent run much with it outside of some articles this morning on his statement and then a handful on his clarificaiton. And none of the headlines were anything close to incendiary.
Why did you guys feel this was needed? it's like you saw a small, tiny spark out in the woods and you guys just threw a bucket of gasoline on it to put it out.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:49 PM ^
The genesis of this post, in my opinion, is that mgoblog felt compelled to explain away the cognitive dissonance that comes with their love of Jim Harbaugh as a coach alongside their utter contempt for his neanderthal positions outside of football. In other words, they call him an idiot savant in an effort to find pseudo-intellectual cover; who doesn't love a guy who can count all those toothpicks, especially if he wins football games?
August 30th, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^
You don't agree with his views, so he's a "neanderthal." Nice.
August 30th, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^
That was my opinion of mgoblog's view. I do not think Jim Harbaugh is a neanderthal at all.
August 30th, 2016 at 5:19 PM ^
Sorry, reading a thousand posts too quickly, my bad
August 30th, 2016 at 5:21 PM ^
That's the big issue to me. Ace thinks Kaepernick can sit through the anthem, hate cops, make any claims he wants to about racism, etc., but the second that someone disagrees with his motivation...watch out!
August 30th, 2016 at 6:59 PM ^
August 30th, 2016 at 4:49 PM ^
This time of year, I pay a great deal of attention to the media. I am not seeing a "media firestorm." A man is asked an off-topic question during a press conference, he tries to answer the question as best as he can, and then follows it up with further clarification. Big surprise, our coach is a social conservative. Aside from the debate itself which CK launched, for better or for worse, why does Harbaugh's view really matter?
August 30th, 2016 at 4:53 PM ^
Butt
August 30th, 2016 at 4:51 PM ^
And I know you mentioned it, Ace, but still...Harbaugh disagreed with how Colin went about it, not his motivations.
As far as what Colin said...I've fond myself agreeing with many on both sides and unable to reconcile it at times.
But of any take I agree with most, I think it's actually Harbaugh's. His motivations are fine...his actions I'm less certain about. To me, it's self-serving. Everyone is talking about Colin Kaepernick now. And I doubt it really does much to help the issue in our country...if anything, I think it hurts, all it's doing is dividing us further, and that doesn't help anything.
August 30th, 2016 at 4:53 PM ^
It's seriously unfortunate that so many people get so uncomfortable at the thought that sports don't exist in a vacuum cut off from the rest of society
August 30th, 2016 at 4:58 PM ^
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August 30th, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^
was aware of the distinction and clarified his statement.
As for requiring civility in our discussion, it would be logical to send the entire presidential campaign to Bolivia.
August 30th, 2016 at 5:09 PM ^
... based on Harbaugh's reaction and that of many others, as well as his background, is that he viewed Kaepernick's protest as a disrespectful act to the military..."
Perhaps assumptions are foolish. I don't know, but I suspect Harbaugh has made the Pledge of Allegiance. I have. I have little use for people who openly disrespect "the republic for which it stands." I took a business law class over in the business school. I remember the professor saying, "if you refer to your own assumptions and you don't use a negative in the sentence then you are telling the world you're stupid."
August 30th, 2016 at 5:20 PM ^
August 30th, 2016 at 5:34 PM ^
I agree with you.
August 30th, 2016 at 6:19 PM ^
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