Los Angeles Chargers Chief coach Jim Harbaugh said he was “disturbed” by accusations that one of his former coaches attending Michigan stole “intimate” photos and videos of athletes, mostly women, for several years.
Speaking to journalists at the Annual Spring Meeting of the NFL on Monday, Harbaugh was asked about the federal accusation of 24 positions against the previous one Michigan co-fensive coordinator Matt Weiss.
The Michigan Wolverines Campo Marshal coach, Matt Weiss, against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 4, 2021. (Mark J. Rebila/USA Today Sports)
“Simply surprised, completely shocked. Hindered,” said Harbaugh In a video Shared by the team.
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“It was after the TCU game that I discovered, we discovered that there were accusations,” he added. “And you said it. I mean, accusation, that is not a word that sympathy for the victims and Matt’s family. It is shocking.”
The United States Prosecutor’s Office for Eastern District of Michigan announced the accusation this month, more than two years after Weiss, 42, was fired from his coach under Harbaugh after an investigation into the alleged crimes.
According to the accusation, Weiss “obtained unauthorized access to the databases of student athletes from more than 100 schools and universities that were maintained by an external supplier.” Then supposedly downloaded personal information and data from more than 150,000 athletes and, from there, Weiss could access the information of more than 2,000 athletes, including access to their social networks, email and cloud storage.
Michigan Wolverines chief coach Jim Harbaugh, Center, Field Marshal coach Matt Weiss, right and seafood Cade McNamara during the heating before the action against the Indiana Hoosiers on November 6, 2021, at the Michigan Stadium. (IMAGN)
Former Michigan coach accused of hacking the data of the athletes for “intimate” photos, the videos face the federal accusation
Weiss is accused of using this information to download “personal and intimate digital photographs and videos that were never destined to be shared beyond the intimate partners,” prosecutors said. The alleged crimes took place from 2015 to January 2023, and it is alleged that it had mainly directed women.
Weiss, who was fired in 2023 for not cooperating with school investigation, declared himself innocent on Monday.
Michigan Wolverines’ co-fensive coordinator, Matt Weiss, during the Big Ten championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes December 20, 2021, at the Lucas Oil stadium, in Indianapolis. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire through Getty Images)
