RALEIGH, N.C. — Fourteen former N.C. State male athletes have filed a lawsuit in state court accusing the university’s former director of sports medicine of sexual abuse disguised as treatment, as well as harassment — broadening a case that began with a single federal lawsuit three years ago.
Filed Wednesday in Wake County Superior Court, the complaint details years of alleged misconduct by Robert Murphy Jr., including inappropriate genital touching during massages and invasive behavior while overseeing urine collection for drug testing.
Murphy, who worked at N.C. State from 2012 to 2022, is one of nine individual defendants named. Several school officials are also accused of negligence in failing to provide adequate oversight.
Of the plaintiffs, 12 are listed as “John Does” to protect their identities. Two former men’s soccer players are named: Benjamin Locke, who initiated the original lawsuit in August 2022, and another athlete who filed a separate federal suit in early 2023. The Associated Press does not typically name individuals alleging sexual abuse unless they have chosen to come forward publicly, as Locke has.
Attorney Kerry Sutton of Durham, who has represented plaintiffs in all four related lawsuits, moved to dismiss the pending federal Title IX cases in favor of pursuing the claims at the state level with an expanded group of plaintiffs.
The new lawsuit repeats earlier claims regarding Murphy’s actions and the university’s response, alleging that concerns had been raised to former athletic director Debbie Yow and other administrators but no meaningful investigation or restrictions were put in place. According to the filing, Murphy retained “free rein” with male athletes even after being told to stop.
The suit further claims that Murphy’s behavior became so widely known that athletes across teams made jokes about it, and some refused his treatment altogether. It describes his supervision during drug testing as “unsettling and undignified,” with athletes required to expose themselves from calves to chest while Murphy sometimes stood closely in the same stall.
“These 14 athletes have stepped forward together to show others abused by Rob Murphy that they weren’t alone, they did nothing wrong, and N.C. State had a duty to protect them,” Sutton said in a statement alongside co-counsels Lisa Lanier and Robert Jenkins.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that a “culture of fear” within N.C. State athletics allowed the alleged abuse to persist. They said athletes worried about losing scholarships or playing time, trainers feared reporting a superior, coaches were reluctant to intervene, and administrators prioritized the school’s image. According to the lawsuit, Robert Murphy exploited those fears to abuse what could be hundreds of athletes.
Murphy’s attorneys pushed back strongly against the allegations. Raleigh-based lawyer Seth Blum, who represents Murphy alongside Jared Hammett, said the claims are baseless.
“In three years of representing Robert Murphy, both in and out of court, we have not seen a single piece of credible evidence that he assaulted anyone,” Blum said in a statement Thursday. “He is a skilled professional who has been unfairly targeted as part of a new wave of lawsuits aimed at universities over questionable sexual assault claims. Put simply, Robert Murphy did not do this.”
Defendants in the case also include former athletics director Debbie Yow, who retired in 2019; former chancellor Randy Woodson; and current athletics director Boo Corrigan. University spokesman Mick Kulikowski said Thursday the school would not comment on pending litigation. Yow, in a text message to the AP, deferred comment to the university.
The suit builds on claims first raised in Benjamin Locke’s 2022 lawsuit, which revealed through a Title IX investigation that then–men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley had told a senior athletics official in February 2016 that Murphy was engaging in behavior consistent with “grooming.” That became central earlier this year when a federal appeals court reinstated another lawsuit, ruling that Findley’s statement constituted official notice to the university.
The new filing alleges Findley first raised concerns after the 2012 season, requesting Murphy’s removal from soccer. Instead, Murphy was reassigned to other teams in 2013, only to resume working with soccer the following year in what the lawsuit calls “a self-directed return.”
Murphy’s supervisors allegedly told him repeatedly between 2016 and 2021 to stop treating male athletes and to focus on administrative duties. The lawsuit says Murphy ignored those directives and, rather than face discipline, was promoted to associate athletics director in 2018 while retaining oversight of sports medicine.
Murphy was placed on administrative leave in January 2022 amid a Title IX investigation linked to Locke’s complaint. Locke later learned Murphy had departed the university that summer after what the school described as an “involuntary separation.” According to a letter sent to Locke by N.C. State’s Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, the investigation concluded that “a violation would have been substantiated by the preponderance of the evidence standard” if Murphy had remained employed.
The university has previously said campus police investigated Locke’s complaint but did not pursue criminal charges.
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