Report: Jim Harbaugh, Warde Manuel added to hacking lawsuit against former Michigan assistant Matt Weiss

Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel and former head coach Jim Harbaugh have been added to a hacking lawsuit against former UM assistant coach Matt Weiss, the AP reported. They were among the officials added to the suit Friday in a Detroit federal court, including former university president Santa Ono.

Attorneys in the suit claim Harbaugh and others knew Weiss was seen viewing private information on a computer in December 2022. However, he was still able to work as Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator during a playoff game about a week later, according to the AP.

According to the lawsuit, a staff member saw Weiss viewing private information in Schembechler Hall just over a week before Michigan took on TCU in the College Football Playoff. He was fired in January 2023 amid an investigation into his use of a computer.

Separate from the additions to the lawsuit, Weiss is charged with identity theft and unauthorized computer access from 2015-2013, the AP reported. According to an indictment, he had access to social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 college athletes and 1,300 students or alumni from schools around the country to primarily find private images of women.

“Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss,” the updated lawsuit reads, according to the AP. “Instead, Weiss was a highly compensated asset that was promoted by and within the football program, from which position he was able to, and did, target female student athletes.”

The updated lawsuit includes 11 female athletes at Michigan and other schools. They are all referred to as “Jane Does” and all but one were student-athletes, according to The Detroit News’ Robert Snell. The updated suit is an amended version of a civil complaint filed in March.

“The university’s delay in taking meaningful protective action until after a high-stakes game sends a clear message: Student welfare was secondary,” said Parker Stinar, the lead lawyer in the class-action suit.

The 2022 season was Matt Weiss’ only year as Michigan’s offensive coordinator after previously serving as the Wolverines’ quarterbacks coach in 2021. Before that, he spent a decade with the Baltimore Ravens, working his way up from head coach assistant and quality control coach to running backs coach from 2019-20.