Jim Harbaugh, Warde Manuel added to Michigan class-action lawsuit over Matt Weiss scandal
A class-action lawsuit has long been filed by some of the victims in Ann Arbor back in March 2025, with 11 female student athletes, along with victims from other schools, seeking damages from the university, given Weiss's alleged crimes happened on campus, using school resources. Now, former head coach Jim Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel are among those being added to the suit, according to multiple reports.
According to both the Associated Press as well as The Detroit News, Harbaugh, Manuel, former U-M presidents Santa J. Ono and Dr. Mark Schlissel were added to the civil lawsuit, with the lawyer for the group of 'Jane Does' taking particular umbrage over a lack of action by the former Wolverines head coach.
Via The Detroit News: (subscription required)
'Harbaugh led and encouraged a culture within the football program that resulted in a complete lack of oversight or protection for non-football student athletes,' the lawsuit alleges. 'Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs…would have been protected against predators such as Weiss.'
Harbaugh, Manuel and others failed to act to protect students, the lawsuit alleges.
'Naming Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Athletic Director Warde Manuel in this complaint reflects our belief that leadership at the highest levels either knew of these threats or deliberately ignored them, prioritizing athletic prestige and profit over the safety and dignity of students,' one of the women's lawyers, Parker Stinar, said in a statement.
According to The Detroit News, this is one of 13 civil lawsuits filed against former Michigan quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss since it was revealed that the United States Department of Justice was bringing charges against him.
After Weiss's indictment, Harbaugh had commented on the situation when asked about it at NFL owners meetings:
'It was after the TCU game that we — that I found out, we found out, that there was allegations,' the Los Angeles Chargers head coach told the Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett on Monday in Palm Beach, Florida, at the NFL's annual spring meeting. 'And you said it, I mean indictment, that's not a word that — sympathy for the victims and for Matt's family. It's shocking.'
According to the AP, the suit alleges that Harbaugh had known, as there was a staff member who had seen Weiss accessing 'sensitive' information on Schembechler Hall computers in late-December 2022, just days before the team traveled to Phoenix to face TCU in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
'Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss,' the updated lawsuit states. '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 lawsuit says a staff member saw Weiss viewing private information at Schembechler Hall, headquarters for the football team, around Dec. 21, 2022, and reported it before Michigan played Texas Christian University in a playoff game days later on Dec. 31.
Like any court case, it is also true that the plaintiff must meet the burden of proof to indicate that the newly-added parties were privy to Weiss's dealings behind closed doors.
Weiss's house was raided by the FBI in January 2023 and he was subsequently suspended by the university. Michigan terminated Weiss on January 20, 2023. Maize & Blue Review's Josh Henschke had discovered the police report during that interim week which had short detail on the intent of the raid, while The Detroit News' Angelique Chengelis had noted the December 21-23 timeline of the Michigan staffer's discovery of Weiss's doings on the same day, January 17, 2023.
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