The former chief coach of the University of Michigan, Jim Harbaugh, was appointed in a demand for collective action against the school for accusations that an offensive coordinator illegally acceded to students’ accounts to download their personal and intimate images.
Harbaugh, now chief coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, directed the 2015 Wolverines football team to 2023. During that time, the co-fensive coordinator, Matt Weiss, was fired for allegedly obtaining unauthorized access to other people’s computer accounts.
The United States Prosecutor’s Office for Eastern District of Michigan accused Weiss in March of 14 unauthorized access charges to computers and 10 charges of aggravated identity theft. According to a federal accusation, he had unauthorized access to a platform with personal identification information about athletes from more than 100 schools and universities throughout the country.
Then he supposedly used that information to hack the personal accounts of 3,300 students and alumni with the help of additional internet research. Federal prosecutors claim that women were mostly addressed, downloading intimate photos and videos of their private accounts.
Weiss was hired at the University of Michigan in 2021 and ended in 2023. He declared himself innocent of all positions.
It is alleged that the collective lawsuit, which is separated from the criminal case, is addressed to Weiss, the University of Michigan and the Manufacturer of the Weiss third -party software that it used to obtain access to personal identification information from students athletes. It consolidates a series of civil lawsuits in the United States District Court for Eastern District of Michigan.
Harbaugh was appointed as part of a complaint amended on Friday, claiming that he neglected the responsibilities in his role as Weiss supervisor and the head of the football program.
The complaint alleges that Harbaugh “failed and refused to implement basic security measures for Weiss and the football program” which turned out that Weiss could obtain access to students’ information.
“If Harbaugh had implemented the basic supervision of his staff, the plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss,” the complaint said.
The new complaint also alleges that a staff member saw Weiss watching the private information of a student in Schembechler Hall in December 2022 before the school competed at the Bowl party.
Harbaugh and the university still allowed Weiss to participate in the game, although a report had been presented to the university before the game, the presentation said.
A Harbaugh representative did not respond immediately to a request for comments.
Harbaugh said earlier this year after the news of Weiss’s accusation, they were “completely shocked” and “disturbed” by the accusations, according to NBC Sports.
The two worked together before their time at the University of Michigan when Harbaugh trained at Stanford University between 2007 and 2010.
Weiss also worked with Harbaugh’s brother, John Harbaugh, during his time at the Baltimore Ravens staff. Weiss spent 12 seasons as the assistant coach of the Ravens, where Harbaugh’s brother served as chief coach.
