Wake County filing adds 17 to 31 plaintiffs suing Robert Murphy

An amended complaint filed late last week in Wake County Superior Court added 17 former North Carolina State male student‑athletes to litigation accusing former N.C. State sports medicine director Robert L. Murphy Jr. of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment, bringing the number of plaintiffs in the case to 31.

The complaint alleges repeated misconduct during treatment sessions and drug testing, including improper touching during massages and intrusive observation during urine collection. The filing says athletes were instructed to "raise their shirt above their chest and lower their shorts or pants to their ankles while Murphy stared at their genitals from a few feet away and sometimes from within the same bathroom stall." The suit recounts athletes describing feeling "uncomfortable and vulnerable" and "feeling humiliated," and one athlete said he "couldn’t urinate ‘even after consuming three Diet Cokes’" and had to return another day to repeat the process.

Plaintiffs are proceeding largely under anonymity: all but two of the 31 are identified as John Doe plaintiffs, while two former men’s soccer players are named. Some local reports supply a specific name tied to the original 2022 federal complaint; other outlets reference a surname only. That discrepancy has not been reconciled in public reporting.

The amended complaint not only targets Robert L. Murphy Jr. but names senior administrators in the N.C. State athletic department, accusing those officials of failing to act after receiving complaints. The lawsuit characterizes the administrators’ conduct as "willful, wanton and/or reckless" and "done in conscious and flagrant disregard of and indifference to the rights and safety of others." The filing also describes the 31 former athletes as "victims of sexual assaults, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment" and asserts that Murphy "violated his position of trust to abuse rather than treat."

The matter began as a federal lawsuit filed more than three years ago and moved to state court after plaintiffs’ attorney Kerry Sutton sought dismissal of pending Title IX actions and refiled claims at the state level in September, when 11 additional athletes were added. Sutton said he expects the number of plaintiffs could grow: "I hate to say it, but I expect to hear from more men in coming days who were sexually harassed or assaulted by Mr. Murphy." Local television reporting noted that Murphy’s lawyers "continue to deny the allegations."

For Wake County residents and the N.C. State community, the expanded suit underscores institutional and governance questions about athlete safety, reporting channels, and accountability for senior athletics officials. The allegations involve campus athletic facilities and processes and could shape university policies on treatment, testing and oversight.

The case will continue to unfold in Wake County Superior Court. Expect further filings, potential additional plaintiffs and statements from both plaintiffs’ counsel and Murphy’s defense as the community watches how university leadership and the courts respond.