Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has been added as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit filed by 11 anonymous students against former University of Michigan offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, who has been accused of hacking the email, social media and cloud storage accounts of thousands of female athletes and downloading intimate photos and videos.
The amended complaint, which was filed on Friday in U.S. District Court in Michigan, claims that Harbaugh, who was the coach of Michigan at the time of Weiss’s employment, and university officials knew that Weiss had been accessing the plaintiffs’ private information when they allowed him to coach in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2022. Weiss’s access to the plaintiffs’ private information between Dec. 21 and Dec. 23 was reported to university police prior to the College Football Playoff game, the lawsuit says.
Along with Harbaugh, athletic director Warde Manuel and former university president Santa Ono were added to the complaint.
“Naming head coach Jim Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel in this complaint reflects our belief that leadership at the highest levels either knew of these threats or deliberately ignored them, prioritizing athletic prestige and profit over the safety and dignity of students,” attorney Parker Stinar said in an emailed statement. “By placing athletic success and financial interests above accountability, transparency, and student welfare, the University failed in its basic duty of care.”
Michigan lost the playoff game 51-45 to TCU and Weiss was placed on administrative leave two weeks later before being fired by the end of January. Weiss was indicted in March on 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. The charges carry a maximum sentence of more than 90 years in prison. Weiss entered a not guilty plea and awaits trial in November in a federal courthouse.
Harbaugh has previously said that he didn’t learn of allegations involving Weiss until after the Fiesta Bowl.
“Shocked,” Harbaugh said to reporters in March at the NFL Annual Meeting when asked about his reaction to the indictment. “Completely shocked. Disturbed.”
Michigan and the Chargers did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit was originally filed in March and is one of multiple civil cases filed by female student-athletes against Weiss. Authorities say Weiss gained access to databases maintained by Keffer Development Services. The databases held athletes’ personal information, including encrypted passwords. Keffer Development Services was listed as an original defendant in the civil lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs represented by Stinar.
Prior to his time at Michigan, Weiss worked under John Harbaugh as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens from 2009 to 2020. Allegations of computer hacking against Weiss date to 2015, when he was with Baltimore. Weiss’s coaching career began in 2005 as a graduate assistant under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford.
