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Harbaugh and Michigan AD Named in Class-Action Suit Over Coach’s Hacking Allegations

The federal complaint accuses Jim Harbaugh alongside athletic director Warde Manuel of ignoring privacy breach warnings to maintain a competitive advantage.

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FILE - Former NFL and University of Michigan assistant football coach Matt Weiss leaves federal court in Detroit, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Overview

  • The amended federal lawsuit filed June 27 in Detroit adds NFL coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel as defendants alongside former assistant coach Matt Weiss.
  • Plaintiffs allege leaders knew in December 2022 that Weiss had accessed athletes’ private digital accounts but kept him on staff for a playoff game days later.
  • Weiss pleaded not guilty to March federal charges of identity theft and unauthorized computer access after allegedly hacking into more than 2,000 college athletes’ accounts from 2015 to 2023.
  • Investigators uncovered thousands of intimate photos and videos on Weiss’s devices and cloud storage during a multi-year federal probe.
  • The class-action suit contends university officials prioritized the football program’s success over the safety and dignity of female student athletes.