31 former NC State athletes join lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by trainer
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- 31 former NC State athletes join lawsuit alleging trainer Robert Murphy abused students.
- Plaintiffs say officials, including Debbie Yow, ignored reports and protected Murphy.
- Murphy resigned in 2022, denies allegations, and has never been criminally charged.
Thirty-one former athletes have now signed onto a lawsuit accusing N.C. State University officials of not protecting the men from a trainer’s alleged sexual abuse and harassment on campus.
The amended lawsuit is part of a legal battle that began in 2022, when former soccer player Benjamin Locke filed a federal lawsuit accusing Debbie Yow and other N.C. State leaders of failing to protect him and other athletes from sexual abuse and harassment by Robert Murphy. Murphy served as the Wolfpack’s director of Sports Medicine and head athletic trainer from January 2012 until June 2, 2022.
State recruited the men to play soccer and other sports at the school, but left them vulnerable to Murphy touching their genitals during massages, the men say, and to Murphy’s harassing behavior while he collected urine samples for drug testing.
“Instead, administrators and staff in the Athletics Department chose to protect Murphy and the reputation of the institution by minimizing, condoning, ignoring and/or covering up his sexual assaults and harassment and the abusive culture that existed,” the lawsuit says.
Murphy resigned in 2022 after Locke’s allegations promoted a campus Title IX investigation.
After Locke’s complaint, two additional former athletes filed similar lawsuits in 2023. By September 2025, 14 former athletes had signed onto the lawsuits.
Murphy has denied the allegations. His attorney Seth Blum said in a written statement last fall that after three years of representing Murphy, there hasn’t been “one scrap of credible evidence that he assaulted anyone.”
Murphy has never been criminally charged.
Murphy’s state Board of Athletic Trainer Examiners license was suspended in December 2022 and permanently revoked in 2023 based on the allegations of Locke and two others, according to the lawsuit. N. C. State spokesman Mick Kulikowski said in a statement that the university cannot comment on the pending case, but officials are reviewing the lawsuit and determining next steps.
“The health and safety of students and student-athletes is paramount to NC State Athletics and the university. Sexual misconduct of any kind is unacceptable, prohibited by NC State’s policies, and in direct opposition to the mission, culture and standards of the university,” Kulikowski said.
University attorneys have vigorously challenged the allegations in court filings. They contend that Murphy’s reported behavior wasn’t concerning enough to merit an investigation, and the people with the authority to take action weren’t told. Attorneys for Murphy and other university officials didn’t respond to a request for comment from The New & Observer.
In the amended lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court on Friday, 25 of the 31 plaintiffs complained about Murphy’s process to collect urine samples for drug tests. Murphy would often ask the men to fully expose themselves, allowing him to stare at their genitals, the lawsuit states. Eighteen of the former scholarship athletes say Murphy’s sports treatments and massages included Murphy touching near or on their genitals, even when he was treating their foot or their Achilles tendon, the lawsuit states.
Twelve of the men described problematic drug tests and sexual abuse during massages or treatments.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 12:23 PM.
