In a bombshell development, an NFL head coach has been named in a lawsuit stemming from a massive hacking scandal.
Currently coaching the Los Angeles Chargers, Jim Harbaugh has found himself in a disturbing case.
Prosecutors argue Harbaugh allowed a predatory assistant coach to hack into female athletes’ accounts to steal private photos.
The legal action alleges that Harbaugh and Michigan officials prioritized football success over student safety by allowing assistant Matt Weiss to continue coaching despite early warnings of his criminal behavior.
“The university put the interests of the [Michigan] football team ahead of those of the victimized female students, further discriminating against the plaintiffs and class members,” the court filing states.
The amended class-action lawsuit includes 11 women and nearly 50 defendants.
It asserts that Weiss hacked into the computer accounts of more than 2,000 college athletes across the country to search for intimate personal images.
Michigan’s athletic director Warde Manuel, former university president Santa Ono, and other officials are also named in the lawsuit.
According to court documents, a staff member reported Weiss viewing private information on December 21, 2022.
However, university officials, including Harbaugh, allowed him to continue serving as co-offensive coordinator for Michigan’s playoff game against TCU on December 31.
The lawsuit says explicitly: “Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss.”
“The university’s delay in taking meaningful protective action until after a high-stakes game sends a clear message: Student welfare was secondary,” said Parker Stinar, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
The scale of Weiss’ crimes is staggering. Federal prosecutors have charged him with identity theft and unauthorized computer access from 2015 to 2023.
He accessed databases from over 100 colleges, obtaining information on more than 150,000 student-athletes.
He then hacked into accounts of more than 2,000 athletes, with a clear focus on female students. Weiss has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
When investigators finally disabled the encryption software on Weiss’ university computer in January 2023, they discovered thousands of intimate photos and videos he had collected.
Weiss was fired that same month during the investigation into his computer use, but critics say this action came too late.
Harbaugh, who left Michigan for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers after winning the college football national championship, has expressed surprise about the allegations.
“Shocked. Completely shocked. Disturbed,” he said when asked about the situation. The Chargers organization has not commented on the lawsuit against their new head coach.
Legal experts note there’s potential for this scandal to spread further. Weiss previously worked for Harbaugh’s brother, John, with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens for over a decade before joining Michigan in 2021.
Depending on evidence about what the Ravens knew about Weiss’ activities, litigation could potentially extend to the NFL organization as well.
