5 things to know about lawsuits alleging former NC State trainer abused athletes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A Wake County Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit against Murphy on June 9.
- The plaintiffs will appeal, and a separate Industrial Commission claim remains on hold.
- Murphy’s North Carolina athletic training license was permanently revoked in 2023.
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NC State athletics and harassment accusations
Former soccer player Benjamin Locke filed a federal lawsuit in 2022 accusing former athletics director Debbie Yow and other N.C. State leaders of failing to protect him and other athletes from sexual abuse and harassment by former trainer Robert Murphy. Since then, at least 31 former athletes have signed onto a lawsuit, as of April 2026. Here is ongoing coverage.
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A Wake County judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing N.C. State University officials of failing to protect student-athletes from a trainer’s sexual abuse and harassment, but the plaintiffs say the legal fight is far from over.
In court filings, the 31 former scholarship athletes say university officials knew of complaints about the longtime sports trainer on campus but did too little to protect them from abuse that they contend occurred over a decade.
The athletes filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court against the trainer and N.C. State administrators. It was dismissed June 9, but the former athletes plan to appeal. Earlier this year, they afiled a second lawsuit with the N.C. Industrial Commission. That lawsuit is on hold until the Wake County lawsuit is resolved.
1. The accusations
The lawsuits allege that Robert Murphy, a former N.C. State director of sports medicine who worked at the university from 2012 to 2022, abused and harassed athletes during medically unnecessary massages and treatments and routine drug tests. Several plaintiffs say he touched their genitals during massages near their groins, in some cases when they didn’t have any injuries or pain in that area.
Since the first lawsuit was filed in 2022, a total of 31 athletes have come forward after recognizing they were victims of Murphy’s abuse, said Kerry Sutton, one attorney representing the men.
It’s common for people not to recognize abuse and harassment until years later, experts say. In a recently settled case involving sexual harassment and abuse at the UNC School of the Arts, some former students who had inappropriate sexual relationships with teachers didn’t realize it was wrong until others shared similar experiences in a conversation on Facebook.
Murphy resigned From N.C. State in 2022.
2. Warning signs did not prompt needed action, lawsuits allege
The complaint claims university leaders, including former athletic director Debbie Yow, ignored red flags. Coaches reportedly questioned Murphy’s behavior, describing “grooming” actions and inappropriate drug-testing practices, the court filing says. Staff and players even joked about Murphy’s massages.
Administrators told Murphy to stay away from the players, but he didn’t, the lawsuits state. But attorneys for N.C. State argue that university officials lacked enough evidence to launch an investigation and that those with authority weren’t adequately informed.
The accusations became public when former soccer player Benjamin Locke filed a federal lawsuit in August 2022. Prior to that, Locke had reported Murphy’s conduct from 2015 to 2017 to Raleigh police. That did not result in criminal charges but triggered a Title IX review by N.C. State’s Equal Opportunity and Equity unit.
Murphy resigned days before its report was finalized. An N.C. State official later wrote that, had Murphy still been employed, the allegations would have been “substantiated,” according to documents obtained by The News & Observer.
Locke’s lawsuit was followed by two more lawsuits filed by former students. Two of the lawsuits were dismissed by a federal judge. One was revived by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In September 2025, attorneys moved the lawsuits with a total of 14 plaintiffs to Wake County Superior Court and the Industrial Commission. By February, 31 former athletes had joined the lawsuits.
3. Murphy, NC State officials deny the allegations
University attorneys have submitted court documents vigorously challenging the allegations. The evidence isn’t “sufficient to establish that an N.C. State official with the requisite authority to address discrimination and to institute corrective measures had actual knowledge of discrimination,” university attorneys argue in court documents.
University officials also have stressed that their defense in this case is independent of the university’s stance against sexual exploitation on campus.
“Sexual misconduct of any kind is unacceptable, prohibited by N.C. State’s policies, and in direct opposition to the mission, culture, and standards of the university,” the university wrote in a federal court filing seeking to have a case dismissed.
Murphy also denies the allegations.
“We have yet to see one scrap of credible evidence that he assaulted anyone,” Seth Blum, one of his attorneys told The N&O. “He is a talented professional who has been targeted as an early victim in the new frontier of mass torts: suing universities for spurious allegations of sexual assault.”
4. Judge dismissed one of two lawsuits. Plaintiffs plan to appeal
On June 9, Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed the lawsuit against Murphy in Wake County Superior Court after Murphy’s attorney successfully argued the case had been filed after the three-year statute of limitations had expired.
Collins also dismissed the lawsuit against the current and former N.C. State administrators after their attorneys successfully argued that the civil case should be decided by the Industrial Commission, which hears negligence claims against state employees and agencies, and not Wake County Superior Court.
Sutton, one of the attorneys representing the former athletes, said they plan to appeal Collins’ rulings. Meanwhile, the men did file a lawsuit against N.C. State in the Industrial Commission, but the case is on hold until the Superior Court case is resolved through the appeal process. In the Industrial Commission, damages are capped at $1 million.
5. No criminal charges but investigation is ongoing
Murphy has never faced criminal prosecution. No charges followed Locke’s report to police. His alleged abuse occurred before a state law passed in 2018 that made sexual contact under the guise of medical care a felony.
Sutton said at least one of the plaintiffs whose alleged abuse occurred after the law was adopted has spoken to Raleigh police about what he experienced. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman confirmed there is an ongoing criminal investigation related to the complaint.
Murphy’s license to practice athletic training in North Carolina was permanently revoked in 2023 based on the allegations from Locke and two others, according to the lawsuits.
