Judge dismisses one N.C. State abuse lawsuit, larger case continues

A Wake County judge has dismissed one N.C. State lawsuit tied to allegations against former head athletic trainer Robert M. Murphy Jr., but the fight over what the university knew, and whether athletes were protected, is not over. The ruling leaves the central accusations unresolved and sends the dispute into another round of appeals and separate state proceedings.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed claims against Murphy and several current and former athletics officials on procedural grounds. Collins ruled that the claims against Murphy were filed outside North Carolina’s three-year statute of limitations, while the claims against university officials belonged before the North Carolina Industrial Commission, not civil court. That means the court did not decide whether the alleged abuse happened as described.

The lawsuit now centers on 31 former male athletes who say Murphy sexually harassed and abused students for years while working in N.C. State’s sports medicine department. Their allegations go back at least to 2013 and include improper touching of genitals during massages and intrusive observation during urine collection for drug testing. Plaintiffs say the conduct went unchecked for years inside a system that should have flagged it sooner.

Murphy served as N.C. State’s director of sports medicine from January 2012 until June 2022. He was suspended in January 2022 and resigned in June 2022. His athletic trainer license was suspended in December 2022 and permanently revoked in 2023, based on allegations from Locke and two others. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman has also said her office has an ongoing criminal investigation.

The case began with a federal lawsuit filed by Ben Locke in August 2022. It grew to 14 plaintiffs by Sept. 18, 2025, and then to 31 plaintiffs by Feb. 2, 2026. The named plaintiffs include Locke and former soccer player Parker Cross, while all but two of the athletes are identified as John Does. Their case spans at least eight men’s sports, putting the reach of the allegations far beyond one team or one training room.

Former chancellor Randy Woodson was voluntarily dismissed as a defendant in April 2026. Plaintiffs plan to appeal Collins’ ruling, and a separate lawsuit remains pending before the Industrial Commission, which hears certain claims against state agencies and employees. For current students, athletes and parents in Wake County, the stakes go beyond one retired trainer: NC State Athletics says it serves more than 550 student-athletes across 22 Division I varsity programs, making the adequacy of reporting systems, supervision and follow-through a lasting institutional question.