Two former female athletes from Michigan have taken legal action against Matt Weiss, a former assistant football coach for the Wolverines. They’re accusing him of hacking into their accounts to swipe intimate photos, as per recent reports.
Just last week, federal authorities indicted Weiss, who previously held roles as the quarterbacks coach and later as the co-offensive coordinator for Michigan during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. At 42, he’s now staring down 14 charges of illegally accessing computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. Conviction could mean up to five years in prison for each computer-related offense and an additional two years for each identity theft charge.
The allegations suggest that Weiss illegally tapped into a third-party database managed by Keffer Development Services, which housed data for over a hundred college athletes. Allegedly, once inside, he didn’t stop at accessing — he downloaded personal and medical data for more than 150,000 athletes. This treasure trove of information allegedly enabled him to break into the social media, email, and cloud storage accounts of over 3,000 athletes. Weiss is said to have accessed content meant to remain strictly between intimate partners.
The Detroit News reports that these two athletes, one a gymnast during 2017 and 2018, and the other a soccer player from 2017 to 2023, were among the thousands Weiss allegedly targeted. The University of Michigan and its Board of Regents are accused in the lawsuit of failing to adequately supervise and monitor Weiss, which allegedly resulted in these invasions of privacy.
Michigan dismissed Weiss in January 2023 following the emergence of an investigation into his suspected misconduct, which reportedly spanned eight years, commencing prior to his arrival in Ann Arbor.
“I hold the University of Michigan and its community in high regard,” Weiss stated upon his dismissal. “I am eager to resolve this issue and shift my attention back to the sport I cherish.”
Weiss’ career included a stretch from 2009 to 2020 with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, where he worked in various capacities under John Harbaugh. Interestingly, John is the brother of former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was overseeing Weiss during his stint with the Wolverines.
