Harbaugh joins lawsuit against former Michigan assistant for hacking

Jim Harbaugh, the former Michigan Wolverines coach, has been recently implicated in a lawsuit concerning a former assistant coach who is accused of hacking into the private computer accounts of college athletes nationwide in search of intimate photos. In this lawsuit, it is alleged that Harbaugh and other university officials were aware of Matt Weiss’s actions but failed to take decisive action when they discovered him viewing private information on a computer in December 2022. Despite this knowledge, Weiss was allowed to continue working as co-offensive coordinator in a national playoff game shortly thereafter.

Not only has Harbaugh been named in this legal battle, but the university’s athletic director, Warde Manuel, and other officials have also been added to the federal lawsuit in Detroit. These allegations shed light on the university’s delay in implementing protective measures until after a significant game, indicating that student welfare may not have been prioritized by the institution. The lead attorney in the class action lawsuit arising from a criminal investigation of Weiss, Parker Stinar, emphasized the significance of the delay in taking meaningful action.

Harbaugh, who currently serves as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, has yet to provide a statement regarding these claims. The lawsuit asserts that had Harbaugh exercised basic supervision over his staff, the plaintiffs and the class as a whole would have been safeguarded against individuals like Weiss. Instead, Weiss, a well-paid member of the football program, was promoted and allowed to target female student athletes using his position within the team.

The lawsuit recounts an incident where a staff member observed Weiss accessing private information at the Schembechler Hall, the football team’s headquarters, just days before Michigan faced TCU in a playoff match. This glaring lack of oversight in detecting and preventing inappropriate behavior from staff members is seen as a failure on the university’s part and has sparked widespread criticism.

Furthermore, Weiss himself faces charges of identity theft and unauthorized computer access spanning from 2015 to 2023. The accusations against him involve unauthorized entry into the social media, email, and cloud storage accounts of over 2,000 college athletes and 1,300 students or alumni from various institutions across the nation to obtain private images, primarily of women. Despite pleading not guilty to these charges, the legal proceedings bring to light the far-reaching consequences of his actions.

This lawsuit underscores the immense responsibility that universities and coaching staff have in ensuring the safety and well-being of their student-athletes. The failure to act swiftly and decisively in response to such serious allegations can have long-lasting implications for the individuals involved and highlights the importance of maintaining high ethical standards within academic and athletic institutions alike.