NC State Abuse Lawsuit Expands as Seventeen More Former Athletes Come Forward
Seventeen additional former North Carolina State University male athletes have joined a state lawsuit alleging sexual abuse under the guise of medical treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack's former director of sports medicine. This latest development pushes the total number of plaintiffs to thirty-one in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete more than three years ago.
Allegations of Systematic Misconduct and Inadequate Oversight
The complaint, filed in Wake County Superior Court late last week, expands a case alleging years of misconduct by Robert L. Murphy Jr. The allegations include improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during mandatory drug testing procedures. All but two of the thirty-one athletes are listed as "John Doe" plaintiffs to protect their anonymity, while two former men's soccer players are named publicly.
One of those named is Benjamin Locke, who filed the original complaint in August 2022. The other is one of two athletes who filed their own federal lawsuits in February and April 2023. Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented plaintiffs in each lawsuit, filed to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction in September. That initial state complaint added eleven new athletes to bring the total to fourteen—now the case has more than doubled with this latest filing.
Emotional Statements from Plaintiffs and Legal Representatives
"While it is never good news to hear there are other men that have been suffering in silence due to what they experienced, I am encouraged by the bravery, vulnerability, and willingness of these men to come forward against injustice," Locke said Monday in a statement released by Sutton.
In a separate statement, Sutton added: "I hate to say it, but I expect to hear from more men in coming days who were sexually harassed or assaulted by Mr. Murphy."
Defense Response and Ongoing Legal Battle
Seth Blum, a Raleigh-based attorney who has represented Murphy, did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press on Monday. He has forcefully defended Murphy in past comments, stating his client has been falsely accused and that there has yet to be "one scrap of credible evidence he assaulted anyone."
"Put simply, Robert Murphy did not do this," Blum said in a statement after the September lawsuit. Murphy, who worked at N.C. State from 2012 to 2022, is among nine defendants named individually. Others include school officials accused of negligence in their oversight roles.
Detailed Allegations from New Plaintiffs
The lawsuits outline similar allegations of Murphy's conduct and the school's alleged failure to stop it, even when concerns reportedly reached senior levels of the athletic department. The latest filing describes the thirty-one former athletes as "victims of sexual assaults, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment" while stating Murphy "violated his position of trust to abuse rather than treat."
The allegations from the seventeen new plaintiffs largely center on Murphy's handling and observation of drug testing. These claims detail athletes being instructed to raise their shirts above their chests and lower their shorts or pants to their ankles while Murphy stared at their genitals from a few feet away—sometimes from within the same bathroom stall.
One athlete described feeling "uncomfortable and vulnerable," while another was left "feeling humiliated," according to the lawsuit. In another particularly distressing case, an athlete was so uncomfortable that he couldn't urinate "even after consuming three Diet Cokes" and had to return a day later "to repeat the same invasive process."
Roughly a half-dozen of the seventeen also alleged Murphy improperly touched their genitals during massage or other rehabilitation treatments for injuries. One athlete dealing with an Achilles tendon injury to his lower leg alleged Murphy began massage treatments but gradually moved higher until reaching the athlete's groin; that athlete asked Murphy to stop and refused to let Murphy treat him again, according to the complaint.
Broader Implications for University Athletics
This expanding lawsuit raises serious questions about institutional oversight and athlete welfare within collegiate sports programs. The case continues to develop as more former athletes potentially come forward, highlighting the ongoing challenges in addressing allegations of abuse in athletic environments.
