During the Week 6 game between the Chargers and the Broncos, HC Jim Harbaugh had to into the locker room for medical attention. Shortly afterward, Harbaugh returned to the sidelines and coached the rest of the game. As it turns out the emergency was due to his heart condition, atrial flutter, a type of heart rhythm disorder. The 60-year-old NFL coach played off the seriousness of the situation after his side’s win, but now he has opened up about what happened and how is he managing the situation.

Harbaugh has a history of heart-related issues having gone through an ablation, a procedure that uses heat or cold to destroy heart tissue that is causing an irregular heartbeat. Following the Broncos game, Harbaugh told the reporters that he is now “2-0 with an arrhythmia,” referencing how he experienced an irregular heartbeat during a game between his 49ers and the Bears 12 years ago.

Harbaugh said, “I haven’t felt it since 2012. I mean, it hasn’t happened, but the one in ’99, 13 years later, I had to have the procedure done again, and so I figured I was getting close to the 13-year mark. I was going to need another one at some point.” After the game, the HC saw a cardiologist and learned that he would have to wear a heart monitor for two weeks, and he was going to take medicine to keep his heart rate down.

ESPN NFL shared a carousel on Instagram, where Alex Smith asked Harbaugh whether there are “any concerns going forward?” The HC pointed at the field and said, “This is the medicine. That’s what I’m saying. We got the right medication, and it’s football because it’s the thing that keeps you young, vibrant, and fit. Once you realize that from an early age, you can take that the rest of your life.”

Describing what happened during the Broncos game, Harbaugh said, “I don’t know what was going on. I did tell the trainer and he said we need to get an EKG. So we had one before the game and said I was in flutter, but then went back into the locker room, they did an EKG  and got back into rhythm. So proudly 2-0 in arrhythmias, 2 wins, zero losses.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, atrial flutter, also called an arrhythmia is similar to atrial fibrillation however, “in atrial flutter the heart rhythm is more organized and less chaotic” than atrial fibrillation. Atrial flutter does not always cause symptoms, however, some people may experience a “pounding, rapid heartbeat, and chest pain.” However, despite the seriousness of the situation, Harbaugh cannot seem to garner the sympathy of the fans, who brought up his alleged involvement in the sign-stealing activity at Michigan.

In August, the NCAA delivered a Notice of Allegations (NOA) accusing seven Michigan staffers from the 2023 team of violating NCAA rules. Michigan’s former staffer Connor Stalions, was alleged to have attended games of upcoming Wolverines opponents and recorded hand signals. This violated NCAA rules over in-person scouting.

Though the NOA said there was no evidence to suggest Harbaugh was aware of sign stealing, he was accused of not being cooperative with the NCAA, denying requests to look through his messages and phone records. Harbaugh has denied any wrongdoing but the fans seem to be in no mood to forgive him any time soon.

Distasteful comments over Jim Harbaugh emerge after health update

On August 7, the NCAA handed Harbaugh a four-year, show-cause order for impermissible contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA said, “Harbaugh engaged in unethical conduct and failed to cooperate when he denied any involvement in impermissible recruiting contacts despite substantial information to the contrary.”

Under espnnfl’s IG post of Harbaugh about his health update a fan wrote, “Can’t cheat when it comes to your health.” That’s pretty harsh, especially considering the NCAA hasn’t found any direct link between Harbaugh and the scouting or sideline recordings that sparked the issue in the first place.

The video from the post also showed him walking to the locker room as he experienced discomfort on the sidelines during the Chargers’ Week 6 game. This led to an IG user making a snarky comment: “Look at those script writers’ hard work.”

The shadow of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal has followed Harbaugh to Los Angeles. Addressing the media on August 5, Harbaugh was asked about the NCAA’s NOA draft naming him. Harbaugh said, “Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson. I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams that I’ve coached.” Harbaugh, Stalions, and former staffers Chris Partridge and Denard Robinson are all accused of committing Level 1 violations in the draft.

The comments from users didn’t stop there—this same fan also joked about him chatting with two other team members in the clip, suggesting they were scheming for the game: “Must be talking about the cheats.” On the same video on Facebook, another user made a distasteful comment writing, “Don’t care karma for what happened in Michigan.”

It seems some fans are having a hard time getting over what happened in Michigan, but Jim Harbaugh stays defiant in the face of accusations and his concerning health condition. The LA Chargers HC will hope to see improvement in his health in the coming weeks, so that he is able to fully enjoy the one thing he loves- football.