14 former NC State student athletes come forward in ongoing sexual abuse lawsuit against ex-trainer, lawyer says

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – New lawsuit information has surfaced after more than a dozen former students at North Carolina State University have come forward with claims of sexual abuse against an ex-athletic trainer.

Attorney Kerstin Walker Sutton told Nextar's WNCN that 14 male student athletes have made accusations against Robert Murphy, the university's former director of sports medicine. The lawsuit alleges years of misconduct by Murphy, including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

In a statement, Sutton said that together the former student athletes "hope to encourage other men abused by Rob Murphy at State to do the same, knowing it wasn’t just them, they did nothing wrong, and NCSU should have protected them."

The federal lawsuit was initially filed by Benjamin Locke, a former N.C. State soccer player, in August 2022. He claimed Murphy inappropriately touched his genitals during roughly 75 to 100 massages — massages that he later said were unnecessary — between August 2015 and May 2017, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Beyond Murphy, Locke also alleges in the lawsuit that N.C. State athletic staff members knew about the abuse and didn't do anything about it, including former head soccer coach Kelly Findley and retired athletics director Debbie Yow. A Title IX investigation was launched as a result of the lawsuit.

Months after the lawsuit was filed, two more athletes came forward accusing Murphy of sexual abuse. One of the student athletes, according to the complaint, told a friend that he was uncomfortable with Murphy’s skin-to-skin contact with his genitals during the first massage, and he returned when pain lingered, but didn’t allow Murphy to treat him further.

Additional court documents that surfaced Wednesday allege that Murphy's conduct was known to the point that athletes on multiple teams joked derisively about it, while multiple athletes refused to let Murphy treat them again. The lawsuit alleges that Murphy's observation methods while collecting drug-testing samples were “unsettling and undignified," with athletes exposed from calves to chest and sometimes with Murphy standing closely in the same bathroom stall.

In court documents filed in August, the defense team with Murphy filed for a dismissal of the lawsuit "for lack of jurisdiction due to sovereign immunity, in the case of claims brought in an official capacity, and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted."

The documents also allege that Locke failed to state claims under Title IX and that his claims were untimely.

N.C. State said in a statement to the Associated Press in 2023 that it was reviewing the lawsuit but wouldn't comment further about the pending legal matter.

Murphy was placed on administrative leave in January 2022 during the Title IX investigation tied to Locke's initial allegations.

WNCN reached out to N.C. State and Murphy's attorneys for comment on the ongoing lawsuit on Thursday. Murphy's attorney did not immediately respond, and an N.C. State spokesperson said the university does not comment on pending litigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.