Ex-Michigan Athletes Sue Ex-Football Coach Over Photo Hack (1)

Two unnamed female former student athletes at the University of Michigan say the school’s lackadaisical approach toward student data led to a now-indicted former football coach being able to download their private, intimate photos without their permission.

The former university gymnast and ex-soccer player who filed suit Friday in US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan seek to represent all people whose personal information, accounts, photos, and videos were accessed by Matthew Weiss without their permission.

“Plaintiffs are embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, and mortified that their private information has been access by total strangers and third parties,” the lawsuit states. The athletes are seeking more than $100 million in damages.

The suit names Weiss, the university, its Board of Regents, and third-party vendor Keffer Development Services LLC as defendants.

Indictment

A federal grand jury last Thursday indicted Weiss, an ex-quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator for the school, on two-dozen unauthorized access and aggravated identity charges.

He illegally accessed a database that contained information about student athletes from more than 100 colleges and universities that was maintained by Keffer from 2015 to 2023, prosecutors said. He then downloaded personal and medical information of more than 150,000 athletes and used that and his own research to get into social media, email, and cloud storage accounts of more than 3,300 athletes and other students, according to the indictment.

Once inside the accounts, Weiss primarily targeted female athletes by downloading intimate photographs and videos, the indictment states.

Weiss pleaded not guilty Monday during his arraignment.

The lawsuit repeats many of those allegations and adds that the university should have done a better job at supervising Weiss. The athletes also said all defendants were required to better protect student data.

They “have long been on notice, and it is obvious, that the kind of information Weiss accessed would be reasonably expected to be kept private, would be embarrassing if accessed by third parties, and is the kind of data that in the modern world every commercial and governmental actor is expected to take action to safeguard,” the lawsuit states.

A University of Michigan spokeswoman said in a statement Monday that she couldn’t comment on pending litigation.

Keffer didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

The plaintiffs are represented by Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley.

The case is Doe 1 v. Weiss, E.D. Mich., No. 2:25-cv-10806, complaint filed 3/21/25.