On Friday, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh became a defendant in ongoing lawsuits against the University of Michigan.
This new lawsuit is a class action case brought by 11 women who accuse former Michigan offensive coordinator Matt Weiss of hacking into their personal accounts and stealing private pictures. It also points fingers at current Michigan athletic director, Ward Manuel.
A report from Detroit News indicated that the revised lawsuit was updated on Friday.
The initial lawsuit, filed on March 21, claims that Weiss accessed personal details of female students from December 21 to 23, 2022.
Harbaugh, who was at the helm of Michigan’s football program from 2015 to 2023, is alleged to have neglected his duty to protect students, according to the lawsuit.
“The inclusion of Ward Manuel as a prominent figure in this complaint suggests that we believe that top leadership either knew about or purposely overlooked these threats, favoring student safety and dignity over financial gain,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint further alleges that Michigan officials permitted Weiss to coach during the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, even though they were aware he had hacked into a female athlete’s personal account.
“In this approach, it feels like the university prioritized profits over people, particularly women and female athletes,” said the attorney representing the plaintiffs.
This case adds to a series of at least 13 civil lawsuits against Weiss, backed by attorneys representing over 80 female athletes nationwide.
The troubling allegations against the former Ravens assistant coach emerged shortly after federal authorities indicted him for illegally accessing a database containing data for more than 100 college athletes operated by third-party firms.
Weiss reportedly downloaded personal information about over 150,000 individuals, gaining access to social media, email, and cloud storage accounts for at least 3,000 athletes.
It is alleged that this access enabled Weiss to download intimate photos and videos that he “didn’t share beyond his intimate partner.”
