NC State sexual abuse lawsuit by 31 former athletes dismissed by judge
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A judge in North Carolina dismissed a lawsuit filed by 31 former NC State men’s athletes who claimed they were sexually abused by the athletics program’s former director of sports medicine.
The lawsuit was filed under the guise of treatment and harassment against Robert M. Murphy Jr. as well as NC State athletic officials bound by probation rules.
But Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed the allegations, citing procedural reasons.
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North Carolina State Wolfpack club seats are prepared for fans during the college basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and North Carolina State at PNC Arena on January 8, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Michael Berg/Icon Sportswire)
That lawsuit, filed in state court in February, was a lawsuit that began in 2022 when a single athlete came forward with his own federal lawsuit. Murphy allegedly engaged in years of abuse, including inappropriately touching genitals during massages and unauthorized observation while taking urine samples for drug tests.
Ultimately, Collins granted Murphy’s attorneys’ request to dismiss the case and ruled that the statute of limitations had expired on claims dating back to 2013.
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Additionally, Collins rejected jurisdictional allegations against athletics officials, including former athletic director Debbie Yow and current athletic director Boo Corrigan.
Kery Sutton, who represents former NC State athletes dating back to the original lawsuit, said they plan to appeal the judge’s decision.
“This termination has nothing to do with Mr. Murphy’s sexual misconduct towards these 31 former student-athletes,” Sutton said in a statement. he said. “This decision was made based solely on questions of due process. We plan to appeal this outcome and will add new allegations against NCSU in the coming days for the men who have recently come forward.”
The NC State Wolfpack logo appears on a pair of shorts during the second-round game of the Southwest Maui Invitational against the Boise State Broncos at the Lahaina Center on November 25, 2025 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
“The truth is nothing more than a man’s career being ruined over money,” Murphy’s attorney, Jared Hammett, said in a statement. he said. “As a lawyer, I am so glad we were able to help another person who needed support and needed advocacy.”
Hammett’s statement also described Murphy as “someone who has dedicated his life to working with athletes.”
Only two of the athletes involved in the lawsuit filed the lawsuit without using “John Doe” as the plaintiff’s name to preserve anonymity. One of them was Wolfpack men’s football player Benjamin Locke, who filed the first lawsuit in August 2022.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack logo is displayed during the second half of the NC State game against the Miami Hurricanes at PNC Arena on January 15, 2020 in Raleigh, NC. (Jaylynn Nash/Icon Sportswire)
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“NC State does not condone sexual abuse of any kind,” the school said in a statement. “The health and safety of our students and student-athletes is critical to the university and our athletic programs.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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