Los Angeles Chargers Head coach Jim Harbaugh said that he was “disturbed” by allegations, one of his former assistant coaches in Michigan stole “intimate” photos and athlete videos, mainly women, over a period of several years.
Addressing journalists at the annual NFL spring meeting, Harbaugh was asked about the federal accusation of 24 chiefs against the former Michigan co-de-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss.
Michigan Wolverines quarter coach Matt Weiss against Iowa Hawkeyes during the Big Ten Conference Championship match at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 4, 2021. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY SPORTS)
“Just shocked, completely shocked. Unmolded,” said Harbaugh in a video shared by the team.
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“It was after the TCU match that I discovered, we discovered, that there were allegations,” he added. “And you said it. I mean, the indictment is not a word that – sympathy for the victims and for Matt’s family. It is shocking.”
The American lawyer’s office for the Oriental District of Michigan announced this month, more than two years after Weiss, 42, was dismissed from his post as coach under Harbaugh after an investigation into alleged crimes.
According to the indictment, Weiss “obtained unauthorized access to the databases of athlete students of more than 100 colleges and universities which were maintained by a third party supplier”. He would then have downloaded personal information and data of more than 150,000 athletes and, from there, Weiss was able to access information of more than 2,000 athletes, including access to their social networks, their emails and their cloud storage.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, center, quarter coach Matt Weiss, on the right, and the quarter Cade McNamara during heating up before the action against Indiana Hoosiers on November 6, 2021, in Michigan Stadium. (Imagn)
Ex-Michigan Coach accused of having hacked athletes data for “intimate” photos, videos are faced with the Federal Industrial Act
Weiss is accused of using this information to download “intimate personal photographs and digital videos that have never been intended to be shared beyond intimate partners,” said prosecutors. The alleged crimes took place from 2015 to January 2023 and he would have mainly targeted women.
Weiss, who was dismissed in 2023 for omitting to cooperate with a school investigation, argued on Monday a non -guilty plea.
Michigan Wolverines Co-Offensive Coordinator Matt Weiss during the Big Ten Championship match against Iowa Hawkeyes on December 0, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis. (Robin Alam / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
