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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbour Friday added a lawsuit against his former employer, the University of Michigan, and a former soccer coach accused of hacking into a computer system to get pictures of college athletes.
The lawyers claim Harbaugh was allowed Matt Weiss To continue working as a co-offensive coordinator in the national playoff game after seeing Weiss display personal information on his computer in December 2022.
“The university’s delay in taking meaningful protective actions until the high-stakes game sent a clear message was secondary to student welfare,” said Parker Stiner, the lead attorney for class actions arising from Weiss’ criminal investigation.
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Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh at a press conference at Bolt. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“If Harbaugh had carried out basic surveillance of his staff, the plaintiff, the class would have been protected from predators such as Weiss,” the updated lawsuit states. “Instead, Weiss is a highly compensated asset promoted by the football program, from which he was able to target female student athletes.”
Messages from the Associated Press seeking comment from Harbaugh and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel were not immediately returned Friday.
According to the lawsuit, staff saw Weiss viewing personal information at the football team’s headquarters at Schembechler Hall around December 21, 2022, before Michigan played Texas Christian University in the December 31 playoff game.
Weiss was fired a few weeks later in January 2023 while investigating his computer use.
Earlier this year, after the charges were filed, Harbaugh told reporters he had no idea about Weiss’ trouble until after the playoff game. He said the allegations were “shocking.”
“I was just shocked, completely shocked. I was interrupted,” Harbaugh said. In the video The team shares it. “We learned that there was an allegation after the TCU game,” he added. “And you said that. The accusation, that’s not a word of sympathy for the victim and Matt’s family. That’s shocking.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced its charges this month, more than two years after Weiss, 42, was fired from his coaching position under Harbaugh after an investigation into alleged crimes.
Michigan Wolverines manager Jim Harbaugh after the Big Ten Championship with the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on December 2, 2023. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
According to the indictment, Weiss “gained unauthorized access to a database of student-athletes from over 100 universities maintained by third-party vendors.” He is said to have since downloaded personal information and data from more than 150,000 athletes. From there, Weiss got access to information from over 2,000 athletes, including access to social media, email and cloud storage.
Weiss has been accused of using this information to download “personal, intimate digital photos and videos that will never be shared beyond their intimate partners.” The suspicious crime occurred between 2015 and January 2023, and he is said to have targeted women primarily.
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Weiss, who was fired in 2023 for not cooperating with the school’s investigation, has entered a plea of ​​innocence.
Before joining Michigan in 2021, Weiss worked for Harbaugh’s brother John on the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens coaching staff.
According to the lawsuit, Weiss’ university computers had encryption software that external vendors must disable as part of their investigation. Authorities revealed in April that thousands of intimate photos and videos were found on his electronics and cloud storage accounts.
Coach Jim Harbaugh (90), Mike Sinelistil (0), and Maji Smith (58) prepare to join the field before the match against the Michigan Spartans in Miche, on October 29, 2022 with Miche, Miche and And Arbor. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
The NCAA previously reported Harbaugh’s four-year show-causing order after determining that the coach had unacceptable contact with recruits and players during the Covid-19 restrictions. The organization determined that Harbaugh “engaged in unethical conduct and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated the head coach’s liability.”
Previously, Harbaugh and Michigan were investigating for unacceptable in-person scouting; Claim to steal a sign This cast a shadow over Michigan’s run to the 2024 National Championship. The Big Ten Conference ultimately stopped Harbaugh in three games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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