Michigan football quarterback J.J. McCarthy and many of his teammates are unified in their response to the Big Ten’s decision to suspend head coach Jim Harbaugh for three games.

The same goes for seven-time Super Bowl champion and ex-Wolverine signal-caller Tom Brady:

On Friday, the conference announced that Michigan must compete without Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season, although he will still be allowed to lead the team during practices.

The Big Ten stated that the football program was “found in violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.”

Michigan will fight back against the suspension decision, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Murphy:

The news comes one day before the No. 3 Wolverines play the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley.

Michigan players have clearly been unified in defense of Harbaugh before, most notably after the school self-imposed a three-game suspension of him for recruiting violations.

That cost Harbaugh the first chunk of the 2023 season. In response, Michigan offensive players held up the No. 4 in line and in unison before the first play of its second drive against East Carolina en route to a 30-3 win.

Harbaugh notably wore No. 4 when he starred at quarterback for Michigan in the mid-1980s.

Before that ECU game, McCarthy also wore a “Free Harbaugh” shirt.

The stakes are a bit higher now with the undefeated Wolverines controlling their own destiny for a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff berth.